


Recovered works by Nelyann

by Ace1399



Category: Destiny - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 40,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24672586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace1399/pseuds/Ace1399
Summary: Stories rescued from Facebook authored by Nelyann.





	1. Epilogue

#fanfic  
#LightAndDarkness

***

~~\\\ Epi L 0 gU 3 //~~

***

Leonidas collapsed to his knees as he was teleported to a great, dark room adorned with rocks and a tree and glowing blue plates on the ground. The trip had left his head spinning, so he decided to rest on the ground for a moment to let the ill feeling pass.

He had to give it to the Drifter for finally being able to tell him where Nova was. Though, it sounded like she finally wanted to be found. Drifter was also kind enough to supply him with the codes needed for the “Wall of Wishes” something or other that Nova had reportedly visited. He just hadn’t expected the wishes to be granted the way they were.

“Feeling alright?” Tigris asked.

“Yes. Just give me a moment.”

After a small while, when his head and his surroundings stopped spinning, the Hunter pushed himself up to his feet and began to look around. He spotted Nova right away, reclined against one of the marble walls. It seemed to be scratched, but whatever had left claw marks on the rock had to have been gigantic. As he approached her, he watched her pull a Mote seemingly out of thin air in her hand. He noticed that she had her left arm in a position that hid it and cradled it, as if it were wounded. A dark smoke emanated from it, and he wondered why she was armed with Malfeasance. She continued to play with the Mote, making it disappear and reappear over and over. He felt his stomach turn because of it.

“What is this place?”

“Welcome to the Keep of Voices. Where the Awoken’s greatest secret sleeps.”

“We shouldn’t be in here, then.”

“Actually, yes. We can be in here. Courtesy of Queen Mara Sov, since she was the one who wanted the Guardians to come in here.” Nova’s arm twitched, and Leonidas began to suspect that perhaps she wasn’t armed after all.

“What are you doing here? And why do you have Motes?” He sounded disgusted. Rightfully so. Nova manifested the Mote in her hand again and closed her fist around it.

“I figured out how to make them. They’re small in comparison to the ones we’re familiar with because I manage to make them out of individual creatures.”

“Such as?”

“The Hive and Taken especially. The Taken give me more material to work with though. Cabal, Fallen, and Vex don’t produce as much material, so I don’t mess with them. Actually, the Scorn make good supply too with their Dark Ether.”

“Why do you have them?”

Nova sighed. She looked at the Mote in her hand.

“Because I’m afraid, Leonidas.”

The Gunslinger looked confused.

“Afraid?”

“I worry that a threat like Azazel could arise again. Or something much worse. If the Drifter’s told you anything about the bleak future he’s seen, then let me tell you I’ve seen it too.”

“You’re trying to amass an army then. Like him.”

“Yes. An army I can control.” Nova raised her left arm and inspected it, and Leonidas’ expression shifted to horror. There was no Malfeasance on her. Her arm displayed features of the Taken: it emanated a Taken mist, and her fingers all faded to teal and glowing white tips.

“Nova, what have you done…?”

“I visited the Ahamkara that sleeps here beneath us,” she replied.

“An Ahamkara…? You had an Ahamkara grant you wishes?!”

“I possess the power to Take now. And, I have my own Ascendant Realm.”

“But… why?”

Nova’s arm twitched again, but this time, so did the rest of her.

“I’m not looking to become a Hive god like Azazel. But, at least now I have a way to efficiently protect Humanity. To protect the Last City, to protect the Awoken… to fight back against the ever-growing Darkness.”

“So you’re using the power of the Darkness yourself then?”

“As well as the Light. I intend to use both. I believe it’s the only way we can win the war.”

“Nova, this can’t be good for you.”

“It isn’t. I’ve become a beacon for the Hive gods. They want me gone. Savathûn, Xivu Arath, the Worm Gods even, they want me dead. I’m sure they’ll stop at nothing to get rid of me.”

Leonidas shuddered at the mention of the names. Foul creatures.

“And your Ascendant Realm?”

“To retreat to. To draw power from. To use the logic of the sword.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you have Scorpius?”

“I never said the sword logic was for me.”

Leonidas stared at her blankly as the Mote in her hand disappeared into thin air. Suddenly, he started to realize what he meant. There had been grave robberies during the time that she was missing. Very specific bodies had been stolen.

“Nova… are you trying to resurrect dead Guardians?”

The Warlock didn’t respond. Instead, she looked down at the ground. The Hunter knelt in front of her, and she looked up at him.

“Would you like to see?”

“Spare me the details. I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“I will be. Just don’t expect you’ll be able to see me as often.”

With a nod, Leonidas stood. He manifested Tigris in his hand.

“Don’t be afraid to come back to the Tower every so often.”

Under her spiny helmet, Nova smiled.

“Take care.”

“You especially.”

And the Guardians parted ways. For now.


	2. Gunslinger

#fanfic! Finally got the next part of Part 1 done 😅 Please enjoy!

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

2\. New Faces

***

The Annex was surprisingly dark. Leonidas passed by a room with a curious symbol on the ground, and several Guardians ran in and out of it, usually sporting black and red armor or weapons.

“Never mind that area for now,” Nova chimed in as she observed him. “You’ll be able to go there later.”

Leonidas continued to follow Nova, but he found it difficult to take his eyes off the symbol. He didn’t recognize it. However, his focus soon switched to another room, his destination, thanks to the strange structure in the back of it.

Nova walked into the room as Leonidas regarded the structure with contempt. It swirled with Taken energy. He felt… cold. He would’ve activated his Golden Gun to quell that cold if he hadn’t noticed Nova was speaking to someone. He was dressed like a Warlock, but not quite, with faded leathery robes and furry shoulder pads. Leonidas cautiously approached this Lightbearer, and he noticed the Lightbearer shift his eyes to regard him.

“Oh, so this is the Hunter you were telling me about!” he exclaimed as he smiled. Leonidas shuddered. Something was off-putting about that smile, about the Lightbearer in general. Nova motioned to him.

“This is the Drifter.”

“The Drifter, huh?” Leonidas didn’t take his eyes off of him. He walked slightly closer. “That your real name?”

“Nah, I just like this name. I go by it now.” Drifter looked Leonidas up and down, scratching his beard. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“I’ve never seen you my entire life.”

“Well, guess you’re right. But then how’d you get to the Derelict?”

Leonidas paused.

“Is that your ship?”

“Yes it is. How’d you find it?”

“I was looking for someone. He happened to be on your ship.”

“Ohh, so you’re hunting someone.” Drifter narrowed his eyes slightly. “Now I know why you look familiar.”

Leonidas felt threatened. He began to stretch out his fingers on his right hand. Nova put a hand on his shoulder, breaking his concentration.

“I’ll be right outside,” she told him before walking out. Against his own judgment, he relaxed.

“Explain, Drifter.” He noticed Drifter glance at his right hand, an expression of suspicion and worry on his face. He quickly smiled at Leonidas. By the Traveler did that smile make him uncomfortable.

“You got that ‘Shin Malphur’ feel, kid. The Man with the Golden Gun.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Oh yeah, once, way back. Kinda scary.”

“Scary?”

“Feels threatening. That’s ‘cause he is. You can't ever outdraw—”

“I know the story, Drifter. I’ve heard it plenty of times.” Leonidas waved his hand as he cut him off. Drifter scoffed.

“I’m sure you have, kid. You’re a Gunslinger after all.” He produced a green coin seemingly out of thin air and held it between his thumb and index finger. He flicked up up and caught it in his palm. “Well, I hope you catch your prey soon, Hunter. Feel free to stop by sometime and play some Gambit.”

Leonidas hadn’t expected for their conversation to end so abruptly, but he knew Drifter was done talking as he leaned back against the railing, flipping his coin in midair as he looked at the container of swirling Taken energy. He seemed lost in thought, and the smirk on his face seemed to falter. Leonidas waited to make sure their conversation was indeed over, and Drifter indeed said no more. He turned and walked out of the room, where he saw Nova resting against the wall.

“Were you listening the whole time?” Leonidas asked.

“I had to make sure you weren’t about to light him up with Solar energy.” She grabbed Leonidas’ wrist suddenly and pulled it towards her. He jerked back in surprise, but Nova pressed a gold and black hand cannon into his hand. He could make out letters etched into the gun, mainly reading “TEX”.

“Is this…?”

“Keep it down,” Nova muttered as she pulled her hand away, leaving The Last Word in Leonidas’ hand. “It took me a lot of deaths and resurrections to get that for you.”

“For… me? Why?”

“Remember, I saw a vision of you long ago. A Gunslinger hunting a rogue Guardian lost to the Darkness. And before you ask, no, it was definitely you in my vision.”

Leonidas regarded the hand cannon with awe before resting it on his hip.

“Thank you.”

“I also gifted you a few more things from my Vault.”

“Another ship?”

“Actually, yes. And another hand cannon.”

Leonidas tilted his head, raising an eyebrow under his helmet. Nova looked away.

“I will admit, it took me a long time to decide if I really wanted to give them to you.” She paused before sighing. “But I figured you deserved them more than me.”

Leonidas summoned his Ghost in his hand; it had a spherical shape to it.

“Tigris, show me my gifts.” Tigris, his Ghost, eagerly obliged. Leonidas could only widen his eyes as he laid them on the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Spades.


	3. Nova

#FanFic

***

Nova kneeled over a crate in the hidden corner where the Drifter had first set up shop before he moved to the Annex. The paper on the crate was filled with scribbles of unintelligible words and sketches of creatures that remained unfinished. The pen in her hand quivered as she struggled to formulate an idea of what to produce next on the page. Her mind was always chaos; she could never find the right words or string the perfect sentence. The thoughts in her mind always ran rampant. Her being a reader did not help.

The fingers of her free hand tapped against the Skull resting on the ground next to her, and occasionally traced circles around the horns and spines. She had read too much, and it was becoming hard to focus.

Nova was a reader; she would read every note, every book, every transcript. If she could get her hands on it, she would read it, no matter how it got into her hands in the first place. That's how she found out Aunor and the Praxic Order was now ironically working with the Drifter to snuff out the Shadows of Yor, but Nova knew she shouldn't have known this based on her choice a few weeks back. She knew Shin Malphur's identities. She knew of the predicament Eris Morn and Mara Sov have found themselves in, despite rarely visiting the Dreaming City in recent days—no, weeks.

But Nova was also a very good listener. She was not above eavesdropping. She knew most, if not actually every rumor that spread around the Tower. Something clicked in her mind. The pen in her hand began to flow along the paper as she began to draw.

The drawing was but a messy sketch when another Warlock entered the hidden space. He removed his helmet and observed her, noting the Go Figure slung on her back. She was hiding her other "frowned upon" weapons. He clicked his tongue. Nova dropped her pen in haste as she looked up at him, but she leaned back and relaxed upon recognizing him.

"You found me," she said to him with a smirk.

"It wasn't hard to find you. This spot is empty, and you've always found solace in this area since before the Red War."

Technically, the space was around where Eva Levante used to be, selling shaders and the like. Nova always found some peace there, but she had never been sure as to why.

"Well, I know you're here to talk. You wouldn't have shown me that handsome face of yours if you didn't want a serious conversation."

The Warlock blushed, the rose color on his cheeks appearing more purple in hue thanks to his sapphire complexion. He quickly cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes, which seemingly glowed an intense bright blue.

"Why did you do it?" he asked, a tinge of pain and slight anger in his voice.

Nova only sighed.

"This is about the Drifter or Vanguard choice again, isn't it? We already had this conversation—"

Her voice faltered as she struggled to avoid calling him any pet names to preserve the seriousness of the matter. She sighed again and cleared her throat.

"We already talked about this. I chose not to side with the Praxic Order for reasons I've stated time and time again. Though, it seems like our choices didn't matter. For now, at least."

"You read the message, didn't you? You know about—"

"Of course I do. I'm not stupid. I listen and read, you know this." She picked up her Skull and started to examine the jaws and teeth that were once an Ahamkara's. "Besides, I told you I would read all the notes and letters you got from Aunor, and you were ok with the idea."

The Warlock shrugged as he realized Nova was right. She had encouraged him to side with the Praxic Order, though he wasn't fond of choosing a side in the first place, so they could share the secrets that they both learned along the way. Though, he was still troubled by the fact that a Warlock had turned away from an order of Warlocks.

"I guess I'm just worried about you," he admitted, looking away as he spoke.

"I'm worried too. Even more so now that The Nine have started talking to us Guardians."

Nova narrowed her eyes at the Skull. Sometimes she would hear voices, but she was never sure if it was the Ahamkara from which the Skull was derived, The Nine, or even Mara. Whoever or whatever it was, the voices would interrupt her thoughts, making the contents of her mind more chaotic. She hated it.

Nova stood up as she put on the Skull and summoned Scorpius from her hand. "I'll be off harvesting Alkane Dust and Phaseglass. You can join me if you'd like, honey."

Her tone was gentle and sweet, but before the Warlock could say anything Nova had transported to her ship and gone out into orbit. The Warlock looked over at the paper she had been scribbling on when he entered. Intrigued by what he saw, he walked over to it and looked, and widened his eyes in surprise.

The words that had been written were all crossed out. Some he couldn't read, but there were notes Nova had written as a checklist: "Get Simulation Seeds," "Obtain Gensym Knight Hood," and others that were so crossed out they couldn't be read. Other notes were more concerning, with slashes and random capital letters in the middle of phrases. But the Warlock's eyes were drawn to the last thing Nova had made on the paper.

The sketch was rough, but he could make it out: it was a sword, but not just any sword. It had a broad blade, and on its hilt was... a stone? No. He knew what that was. He recognized the sword.

It was a sketch of Dark Drinker.


	4. Duel

#fanfic  
#DuelsAndDemons

***

Part 2: Duel

***

The Warlock approached Nova, aiming the arrow of his Trinity Ghoul at her bony helmet. She chuckled.

“So, you finally gave me a name. All this time, I thought you were nameless.”

“Unfortunate circumstances too.”

Nova twisted around so that she stared straight at the arrow, but cocked Malfeasance up at Sol’s own helmet.

“I wouldn’t, otherwise I’ll unload three rounds in your head before you can let go of that bowstring.”

“You’re not that fast. We both know that.”

“You’re right. But this gun is.”

“You’ll die if I let go of this string.”

“Why are you here, trying to bug this ship?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Oh? I think it is. I’m supposed to have Drifter’s back, and I don’t go back on my word.”

“It’s none of his business either.”

“Was this an order from Aunor?”

“Perhaps.”

“I’ve never thought you to be the secretive type, Sol.”

Nova let Malfeasance roll out of her hand and it fell into the snow. As it seemed to dissipate into bits of data and light, a sword manifested in her hand instead: a double-edged black and red sword with a European-style hilt. Before Sol could register the change in weapons, Nova slid the blade between her helmet and the arrow’s head and kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away from her. She rolled to her feet and stood up, holding Stryker’s Sure Hand out in front of her. Sol did not fire his arrow but instead relaxed the bowstring. Like Malfeasance, it too disappeared in bits of light and data, and in his hand was a sword as well: Future Safe 10.

“You know I’m the better fighter between us, Nova.”

“Is that supposed to dissuade me from a sword duel?”

Nova lunged forward, swinging the blade to her left. Sol guarded and took a step back, then swung his own sword upwards, leaving a trail of Solar energy as it arced upwards. Nova barely dodged the strike, but she did Blink backwards to make distance. However, Sol Blinked forward towards her and attempted to slash at her, the sword still glowing with flames. The blade slightly ripped Nova’s robes, but she retaliated with her own uppercut, Arc energy momentarily coating the blade. His robes suffered a rip as he stepped back, but he did not relent.

The duel continued between the two of them until their swords no longer sparked with elemental Light. Still they raised their swords once more, prepared to strike each other down, until the sound of resurrections interrupted them. The Hunters, Titans, and Warlock were back, weapons drawn. Nova felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand. There was someone else here with them all.


	5. Resurrection

Next part of the #fanfic incoming! 1 more chapter left of Part 2 after this one! Then it's on to Part 3 😎  
Enjoy!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

6\. Resurrection I

***

“He’s in the Arcology?” Nova asked in surprise.

“Carrying Light he somehow stole from Io,” Leonidas added.

Drifter had been true to his word. He was able to gather enough information to tell Leonidas that Azazel had taken some of the Traveler’s Light left on Io and that he had absconded with it into the depths of the Arcology on Titan, deep into the nest of Hive that dwelled in the abandoned facility. Leonidas only shuddered to think of what the Hunter was intending to use that Light for.

“He will likely try to perform some sort of Hive ritual with that Light,” Lightning said with a look of concern. “It’s too dangerous to let him. We must stop him.”

“The three of us have no choice but to go then.” Nova summoned Scorpius in her hand. “We’re going to Titan.”

The three Guardians rode their Sparrows across the broken bridge to the Solarium, where two Knights and a Shrieker awaited them. Lightning quickly stepped forward and dispatched the Knights with his Arc Staff before rapidly spinning the staff in front of him to create a barrier that reflected the Shrieker’s Void bolts back towards it, effectively making it kill itself. The Arcstrider looked back at Nova and Leonidas and motioned with his head to follow him.

“I can feel his presence well below us,” he told them. “You need only follow me.”

The three jumped through the cutout in the wall in front of them and proceeded to avoid Hive traps set on the ground that burned with a sickly green fire. An Ogre, flanked by two Shriekers, stood in front of the door that Lightning was running to, and Nova felt her stomach drop. If Azazel was where she thought he was…

Leonidas threw a grenade that fragmented into multiple pieces which then targeted and swarmed the Ogre while Lightning leaped up and swung his staff through one of the Shriekers, killing it immediately, and then Blinked over to the next Shrieker before it could start assaulting him with a rain of Void bolts. He dispatched it the same way as the first as the Arc Staff cut through the vulnerable eye. Lightning turned his attention to the Ogre as it slammed its fists into the ground, just barely missing Leonidas as he flipped backwards to avoid the angry beast’s fists. The Arcstrider Blinked higher up into the air and slammed his staff down on the Ogre’s eye, violently electrocuting it while also slicing through said eye. The creature howled in pain as it dissipated in a violent spark of Arc Light.

“We don’t have much time left. I can feel the ritual beginning,” Lightning said worriedly.

“Lightning, can you feel what kind of ritual?”

“No.”

“Can you feel the level of Darkness there?”

“It’s high. Very high now. Lots of Void Light as well.”

“Damn it…”

“Nova?” Leonidas asked in confusion.

“We need to hurry. I suspect he’s trying to either lure something big out or bring something back to life.”

The Hunters and Warlock raced across the Arcology, dispatching the few Hive creatures that blocked their way, such as Acolytes and Wizards and plenty of Shriekers. They dropped into pits and continued to make their way across, until a particularly large Ogre stood in their way and blocked the next door.

“Damn! The next pit down is just past that door,” Nova sighed in frustration. Her arm radiated with Void energy. “We don’t have time to lose.”

She fired a Void bomb that detonated on the Ogre’s eye, severely injuring it but not quite killing it. However, several Shriekers made their presence known at that moment and cast some sort of shield on the Hive beast.

“Well,” Nova began as she grabbed her Outbreak Perfected. “That’s new.”

As the Shriekers began unleashing their collective barrage of Void blasts, Lightning stepped forward with his reflective barrier produced by his staff.

“I’ll deal with the Shriekers. Stay behind me!”

A sudden burst of Solar energy followed by three flaming gunshots that burned away three different Shriekers made Lightning look back. Leonidas radiated heat as he dove forward and out of the protection of Lightning’s barrier. He ran around the Ogre, who began to fire a Void laser from its swollen, pulsating eye, and began to unload shots of the Ace of Spades into yet another Shrieker. The sentient eye turned its attention to the Gunslinger and began to fire its Void bolts at him. Nova charged a Void grenade in her hand before stepping out from behind Lightning’s barrier herself, and threw it at the Shrieker nearest to her. The eye began to twitch violently in pain as the swirling grenade consumed it. She began to shoot at one of the last two remaining Shriekers with her Outbreak.

Lightning watched Leonidas gradually become pinned by the Ogre and the Shrieker focused on him, so he stopped spinning his staff and instead vaulted it javelin-style through the Shrieker’s eye. The Hive creature disintegrated in Arc Light and the staff clattered to the ground before disappearing in sparks of electricity. Lightning Blinked up to the last Shrieker, which had acquired a fair amount of nanites that swirled around its eye and attacked it viciously. The Shrieker’s eye rolled about desperately, but it just barely caught a final glimpse of twin Arc Blades piercing it. The blades emitted a violent spark of Arc energy that disintegrated the Shrieker, and as Lightning fell back down to the ground, he spun gracefully in the air and launched the two knives at the now unshielded Ogre. Violent electrical sparks shot through the Ogre’s body as the Arcstrider flung a grenade that splintered into four and skipped along the ground towards the Hive creature. As they made contact with its hardened flesh, there was a final spark of electricity, and the Ogre disintegrated into nothingness. With his staff and blades gone, Lightning held out his hand a new staff formed.

“I’m afraid I can sense Taken now as well,” he said grimly.

“Is the ritual over then?” Nova asked.

“No, not yet.”

“Then we still have time.” She motioned towards the now opened door. “Let’s hurry.”

The Guardians soon encountered the next pit and jumped down, where a small horde of Taken Thrall began to charge at them. Fortunately, Lightning made quick work of them with his Arc Staff and charged forward to ensure a clear path. It wasn’t long before the three emerged into an open area, where Azazel stood before a small raised portion of the ground and a Likeness of Oryx floated on a distant platform further back in the room. The shadow of the Taken King growled lowly.

“So, you three arrived just in time.” Azazel’s voice sounded more distorted than usual, barely even human. He clicked his tongue and spoke in another language, most likely the tongue of the Hive. “Resurrection in this way goes against the logic of the sword, but I figured it’s worthwhile.”

“Azazel, hand over the Light you stole,” Nova demanded.

“What Light? I already used it.”

“Were we too late?” Leonidas asked himself.

Lightning took a stance, holding his staff behind him.

“This ends here, Azazel.”

The Hunter turned around the face the Guardians.

“Oh, but I’m just getting started.” He raised his hands as pieces of something that littered the rock began to lift up into the air, emanating a mixture of the Traveler’s Light and Void Light. The pieces began to come together, forming the shape of a giant but eyeless Shrieker.

“Savathûn’s Song…” Nova whispered. “No…”

The Light from the pieces converged in the empty center of the Shrieker’s shell and formed a new eye, which regarded the three Guardians menacingly. The room rumbled as some sort of sound like a growl or roar was emitted by the gigantic Shrieker. In the back of the room, Oryx extended his claws towards the Song. As a dark miasma began to swirl underneath it, the eye rotated around to regard Oryx… until it warped into a Blight. The Blight spread and consumed the Song before collapsing in on itself.

“No! The Song..! It’s been Taken!!” Nova shouted as she stepped forward. She aimed her nanite-producing pulse rifle at Azazel. “What have you done?!”

The Hunter only chuckled as the Blight reappeared and reformed the shape of the Song, revealing it to now radiate with a Taken essence. The eye remained as menacing and as piercing as ever, and it emitted the same sound as before, though more hollow in its sound. It created what appeared to be eight defensive Taken wards in front of it, which started to move down towards the Guardians. Lightning immediately began to create his barrier, which deflected the seeking bolts, but the Song teleported to the far right corner of the room to avoid being injured. Azazel scowled.

“You…”

The Nightstalker was forced to dodge out of the path of the burst of nanites, and he immediately found himself face to face against both Nova and Leonidas.


	6. Wish

Well everyone. It's finally here. The end of the #fanfic. Thank you for all your support! I could have never written this without y'all ❤  
Enjoy the finale!

#LightAndDarkness

***

7\. Wish

***

Leonidas looked out towards the Last City as he leaned forward on a railing. He let his mind wander regarding the past events. Sol had been given an honorable burial by the Vanguard. Nova had vanished. And he was pretty sure there was some fanatical Titan stalking him around the Tower.

Things had been bittersweet since Azazel’s death. While he slept easier at night knowing that the threat of Azazel no longer existed, he still worried about Nova. He had no idea where she had run off to. He had asked that Drifter help find her, but so far neither of them had any luck.

“Hey kid.”

Leonidas tilted his head in the direction of Drifter’s voice over comms.

“Got something?”

“Lots of reports of some Warlock, or Warlocks, wandering the solar system. They've been spotted at the EDZ, at Titan, at Io, Mars, hell, even the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City. Never the same description though. One day they’ve got shiny white robes and the next they’re wearing torn and dark clothes and all sorts of crowns and skulls on their head. Sometimes it’s a Voidwalker. Sometimes not.”

“Could it be her?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. The latest sighting was of a Warlock walking into that Awoken Watchtower and getting in through a hole in the wall.”

“I see. Let me know when you get confirmation that it’s her.”

“Of course, brother. Trust.”

—

Nova opened her eyes. Using that teleporter always made her feel queasy. She found it easier to manage if she closed her eyes. She looked around the grand room. Rocks stood on one side. A tree stood tall on the other. Six glowing blue circles decorated the main floor, with three on one side and three on the other. As she slowly walked out into the main space, she recalled her earlier conversation with Scorpius.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he had asked.

“You don’t have to stick around. It won’t be safe for you.”

“I refuse to leave you. And, I won’t let you catch me off guard and toss me again.”

The Warlock heard a deep growl emanate from underneath her. Whispers seeped from the walls of the room. She heard a voice. It was Ikora’s, but the voice did not come from Ikora.

“Nova Persephone Atmos… have you come to kill me?” she asked. “You can’t do it alone.”

Nova narrowed her eyes and grimaced as she heard her full name, the name she had given herself but never shared in full.

“I wish to speak with you.”

Something hissed and recoiled.

“A wish…”

Something big began to crawl about, its footsteps causing the ground to rumble and shake slightly. A reptilian growl came from Nova’s right, and she slowly turned her head to see a massive dragon-like creature crawl out of the shadows. An Ahamkara. A Taken Ahamkara. Riven. The beast’s fingers gripped the edge of the platform on which she stood, her claws slightly scraping against the smooth rock. Though Nova was unable to see her eyes, she could feel the piercing gaze. She caught a glimpse of her serrated teeth.

“What would you like, O wish-maker mine?” The voice was Petra’s that time.

“Two wishes.”

Riven growled deeply, as if thinking. Or waiting. It was hard to read her. But Nova was prepared for any tricks the Ahamkara desired to bring upon her. She would try her best to cope with the consequences of her wishes. The Warlock stepped closer to the dragon and held up one finger. The creature shook its head and snorted, as if it had some kind of itch.

“I wish for an Ascendant Realm of my own. My own throne world.”

Nova swore she saw Riven sneer. With a display of teeth upon teeth as well as a low guttural growl, the Ahamkara spoke in Mara’s voice.

“An Ascendant Realm? What could a Guardian want with such a thing?”

“I wish for it.”

A pause. The beast raised her head and tilted it as if examining Nova.

“Then your wish shall be granted.”

The Warlock had suspicions of what Riven would do to her young but poor throne world. She would likely sneak in hidden entryways, just like she had done in the Dreaming City, so enemy forces could enter it and attack it. Plague it. Destroy it. No, no matter. It could be defended. It didn’t have to be beautiful. It just had to exist.

“Now, my second wish.”

“A second wish! Go on, wish. I will grant it.” Riven sounded gleeful, despite her usage of the voice of Asher Mir. She had pulled a trick. It was undeniable. Nonetheless, Nova held up a second finger. She paused for a moment. This wish would come with the greatest consequences. But she was prepared.

“I wish for the power to Take.”


	7. Argument

More to the #fanfic! Enjoy!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

2\. Argument

***

The Warlocks stood in an empty room in the Tower’s annex—well, it was once empty, as the Calus-possessed Frame Benedict 99-40 now occupied it. Sol paced around in an agitated state while Nova stood against the wall with her arms crossed.

“Whatever little ambitions you have are going to get us all either in trouble or killed,” Sol said in a low, angry voice. “Look at what happened in the Cosmodrome. If Lightning hadn’t shown up, we would have all died.”

“We had to go, Sol. It doesn’t matter if there was a rule that the Cosmodrome is quarantined. What would have happened if we hadn’t gone?”

“That doesn’t matter, Nova! You very nearly led us to our deaths!”

“So you would rather have sat back and watched Azazel potentially bring ruin to Earth?”

“Nova.”

“I understand your concern and your willingness to abide by Vanguard rules, unlike me. But you have to think about what’s more important, and what would be right to do.”

“If you want to be an outlaw, then so be it, but don’t drag others into being outlaws with you too.”

“You know Leonidas is after Azazel, it would have been wrong to deny him the opportunity and you know that.”

“Damn it, Nova, you’re not getting it.”

“No, I don’t think you’re understanding the difference between duty and responsibility, Sol. It’s our responsibility as Guardians to serve the Vanguard. But it’s our duty, also as Guardians, to defend the universe from the Darkness and protect the Light.”

Sol sighed loudly and heavily as he stopped pacing about. He turned quickly and stalked up to Nova, looming over her.

“I understand that. But you. You’re reckless. You’re going to get yourself and everyone around you killed. If you could, you would lead everyone in this Tower to fight an unwinnable battle just because you think you could win it. You would willingly sacrifice lives for some personal and selfish cause.”

Nova turned her gaze away from the void and stared daggers at Sol.

“What happened to you? When did you become so damn spineless and afraid?”

The Warlock seemed to recoil in fury.

“What did you just say?”

“Would you say the same thing you are telling me now to Zavala? To Ikora? Eris Morn? Cayde-6? Those who fell at the Vault of Glass? The Iron Lords and Lord Saladin? The Lightless Guardians in the Red—”

“I get it. You’ve made your point.”

“No. I haven’t. They were brave. They risked many lives, including their own. They didn’t always win the battle. But they always won the war, dead or alive.”

Sol shook his head in defeat.

“Call me a coward then. But I will not be led to my death because of you and your desires.” The Warlock summoned forth Prosechtikós, who seemed to give Nova a sad look with his single eye, and then they both disappeared in light as they returned to orbit. The Voidwalker looked down at the ground quietly.

“Coward…” she whispered faintly. She held out her hand and summoned Scorpius, who regarded her curiously.

“That got heated very quickly,” the Ghost quipped.

“Never mind that. I need you to suit me with my Notorious armor.”

“Notorious… that’s the one with the glowing green snakes on the leather?”

“Exactly.”

“The helmet too?”

Nova paused for a moment.

“No, actually, I think I’ll keep my current one.”

“Oh? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Scorpius’ tone sounded dry. Nova raised her gaze to meet his glowing blue eye.

“I need you to repurpose this one. You know that look I have for it?”

“The one that makes it metal, right?”

“Precisely. It should make me look fashionable enough. And, if you could be so kind, could you give me a little Reaper Synth?”

“Trying to maximize your reaping abilities, I see?”

Nova smirked under her helmet.

“Of course.”


	8. Trust

Hello everyone! Ready for more #fanfic?  
Today begins Part 3, the concluding part of the story. While writing has wrapped up, it could use a few more edits. But feel free to enjoy! 😊

#LightAndDarkness

***

1\. Trust

***

The Gunslinger and the Voidwalker approached the Drifter, who was leaning back against the railing. Flipping his coin, he regarded them with a smile. Even though he trusted him a little more, Leonidas’ skin crawled because of that smile.

“Alright kids, I’ve got good news and bad news,” the Lightbearer began.

“I thought you only said good news,” Leonidas replied curiously.

“It was, until I got more intel. Anyway, a friend of mine in the Tangled Shore found your little buddy. Says his men spotted him beelining for the Watchtower.”

“What could he possibly want in the Watchtower?” Nova asked.

“Not sure. My good friend doesn't know either.”

“I see," Leonidas said with a nod. "I appreciate the tip. Thank you.”

The Gunslinger briskly walked away, intent on following after Azazel. As Nova turned to try to stop him, the Drifter called out to her.

“Hey, Nova. Take this.”

The Warlock looked back at him and saw a Mote sitting delicately in his palm. He urged for her to take it, so she grabbed it gently and held it in her hand.

“Why?”

“You might need it soon. Just tryin’ to look out for ya. Trust.”

The Voidwalker soon reunited with the two Hunters in their normal hiding spot just a few yards away from Drifter’s space; she had already asked that Scorpius move the Mote to a safer location in her Vault. She knelt in front of the Hunters, but stared into Lightning’s eyes.

“Um, Nova?” Leonidas asked. She held up a finger towards him to silence him. She intended to question the Arcstrider.

“Lightning, were you actually created by Fenrir?”

The Arcstrider was taken aback.

“Yes?”

“There’s something I’ve noticed about you. When you first showed up, you were with Azazel. Or, did he show up with you?”

“That’s purely coincidence. And the fact that we’re connected.”

“Yes, the whole foil nonsense. I understand. Very well. Let’s just say I've noticed that you’ve always been present when Azazel is in danger. He heals and revives when you’re around.”

“Again, coincidence.”

“And your wound.”

Lightning struggled to hide the surprise in his face. He glanced down at the slightly glowing cut.

“What about it?”

“Why does it glow and spark like that? I've never seen such a thing before.”

“I told you, I’m pure Light.”

The Warlock sighed. She wasn’t getting any of the answers she wanted. Leonidas cleared his throat to break the silence.

“Well, we should deal with Azazel, don’t you think?”

“Being made of pure Light makes me fragile.”

Leonidas blinked.

“Fragile?” he asked.

“That’s why I am much stronger with my Light than without. It’s the drawback of having too much Light.”

The Warlock regarded him silently, searching his eyes in an effort to find more information, to find lies, to find answers.

“I see,” Nova finally said with a quiet whisper as she gave up on her search. She stood up quickly. “I’ll go to the Tangled Shore. That Watchtower leads to the Dreaming City, so I’ll see what Drifter’s ‘good friend’ has to say about it. You two head directly to the Dreaming City and make sure everything’s alright.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Leonidas said. “We’ll go now.”

Nova nodded once.

“Eyes up.”


	9. Gifts and Monastery

Next part of the #fanfic! Enjoy!

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

5\. Gifts and the Monastery

***

The cave of blue and purple crystal that opened up to the Spine of Keres was certainly admirable, but nothing was more admirable than the Oracle Engine. The machines rings and platforms rotated slowly about the main sphere in the middle in an almost graceful way, so much so that Leonidas stopped to stare. That is, until his concentration was broken.

“Up here!” Nova called out to him as she stood a ways up in the room, standing next to some sort of console. Leonidas looked at her and nodded before starting to make his way up. He climbed up on the platform where Nova stood and looked at the console.

“Let me guess, this is where the offering goes?”

“Yes,” Nova answered. “But since I don’t have one, I can’t go with you.”

The purple crystal materialized in his hand, and he offered it to the console. The console did not seem to respond, but the crystal faded away in a lavender light. Immediately, the Oracle Engine stopped moving. Leonidas was about to start worrying that something had gone wrong, until the rings and platforms began to rearrange themselves in a specific pattern, and the middle sphere rotated itself to present a closed gateway. The gate rotated and parted, revealing a glowing white portal that made Leonidas shield his eyes somewhat. He looked back at Nova.

“Go on, it’s alright. There will be a gift waiting for you.”

The Hunter turned back to the portal and jumped across to the platform in front of him before leaping through the circle of light. When he emerged on the other side, he stood in awe at first. He looked around at the pool, the table, and up towards the empty throne. Mara was gone. As he walked up to the throne, and the chest next to it, he realized the throne had been vacant for a while. He opened the chest, and that’s when he heard Mara’s voice in his head.

“Take this, Guardian,” she told him, almost commanded him. “Use it well. Use it wisely. Be strong.”

Leonidas was given a Vouchsafe, and another Seed of Light. He materialized the other Seed in his hand and looked between the two of them. Holding them made his inner Light flare, and he instantly knew that these things would grant him new abilities. He made his decision. As he closed his fists on the Seeds and allowed himself to be consumed by their Light, a storm of lightning and fire welled up inside of him.

When the Hunter stepped out, a Warlock in snow-white armor stood by Nova. Sol had returned. He regarded Leonidas as he leaped across to the platform on which the Warlocks stood.

“You’re back,” Leonidas said to him.

“I am.”

“We were discussing fighting back the curse… again,” Nova chimed in. “Our first stop is Harbinger’s Seclude.”

“We’re stopping that ritual, right?” Sol asked.

“Yes, again.”

“And then we’re going to Eleusinia?”

“To stop Dul Incaru, yes, again.”

Leonidas looked between them, looking confused.

“I don’t know what you two are talking about, but I’m here to help.”

The Guardians soon arrived in Rheasilvia, and observed the Scorn and Taken battling on a lower bridge.

“They’re at it again,” Nova sighed.

“You keep thinking the curse will change,” Sol told her as he observed the chaos.

“Considering this is essentially a Vex simulation, yes, I expected the Vex to be smarter.”

“Well, the sooner we get this over with, the better,” Leonidas interjected as he drew Ace.

The Guardians jumped down to the bridge and began raining havoc on the creatures of Darkness; Leonidas shut them down quickly with Ace, Nova riddled them all with bullets of Malfeasance, and Sol mowed them down with his Duty Bound. They effortlessly cleared the bridge and made their way inside, where they proceeded to split up to destroy three Taken guards of sorts while also dispatching more Scorn.

When the regalia-adorned Taken Centurion servant of Incaru appeared to defend the ritual, the Guardians felled it with ease, especially Sol, who let out a crackle of lightning and fired a concentrated Arc beam from his hand that absolutely decimated the Taken and its subordinates. The Guardians hardly spoke, even when they jumped through the portal and destroyed two Taken Wizards channeling energy into a crystal, and then destroyed that crystal. They were still silent even as they escaped the collapsing Ascendant Realm, avoiding bombs and cracks in the path to pass once more through the portal. Once on the other side, Leonidas broke the silence.

“Was that all?”

“Yes, we disrupted the ritual,” Nova answered. “All that’s left is killing the mastermind behind that ritual.”

“Well Nova, lead the way there,” Sol told her. She looked at him.

“I don’t know my way from here.”

“With how much time you’ve spent in this place?”

“I never go to the Confluence from here, Sol.”

“I… think I know where it is,” Leonidas said as he looked at the ground, squinting behind his mask. He tried to make sense of the vision he saw.

“Oh, you’re Awoken?” Sol asked in amazement. “I imagine you’re seeing a vision to guide you.”

“You Awoken are interesting alright,” Nova muttered, a hint of jealousy in her voice. Leonidas started walking forward, but eventually started running as the vision showed him what path to follow. The Warlocks followed him without question, and after passing through the portal Leonidas had seen, they found themselves in the Confluence. At this point, Nova gained her bearings and put a hand on Leonidas’ shoulder.

“I can take it from here. I know where I am.” The Warlock began to lead the others until they stood before a giant, dark gateway. The Techeun Sedia stood before it, regarding the Guardians.

“Are you prepared to step into the Queen’s throne world once more?” She looked at Leonidas. “And are you ready to experience it?”

“I am,” Leonidas replied as he stepped forward, towards the portal. “I must help stop this curse.”

The Warlocks stepped up from behind him and stood next to him, one on each side. They all extended an arm towards the portal.

“Are you all ready?” Nova asked. Leonidas hummed in response and Sol simply nodded. The Guardians stepped forward once more, and passed through to Erebus.


	10. Allegiance

#fanfic time! This one is a bit long so I'll have to put it up in parts. However, it is finished!  
#DuelsAndDemons

***

Part 1: Allegiance

***

Nova and her fireteam stepped out towards the giant gateway in The Derelict, guns in hand. They had received word that a fireteam was trying to bug The Derelict itself in an attempt to learn the Drifter’s secrets. Nova had no idea if it was sanctioned by the Praxic Order or if the Guardians were doing it out of their own free will. Nova raised her Malfeasance and glanced back at her team: all Hunters, each wielding a different weapon in their hands. She looked over to her right at the path that led to a hidden area in the back, presumably where Drifter liked to spend his alone time; it was where she had discovered the first of Drifter’s tapes. She began walking there, her steps slow and careful as she looked out for things like tripmines. After a careful inspection, Nova stepped out into the open and aimed her hand cannon, only to find empty space. She scoffed and started to run quietly, being extra cautious of the clanking of the metal beneath her boots. She heard the Hunters running just as quietly behind her; they were masters of stealth after all. She entered into the open, snow-covered area and aimed again. They had to be there. Nova holstered her Malfeasance and drew her Subtle Calamity instead, peeking into the shack and drawing the bowstring back slowly. She spotted a leg. Bingo.

The arrow pierced the Titan’s leg and exploded, causing the Titan to collapse. Yelling ensued as the Hunters aimed their guns, and two Guardians stepped out: a Warlock and another Titan. The first Titan was quickly healed by his Ghost, and he too stepped out, throwing a hammer at Nova and her team. The Hunters dodged while Nova slid out of the way, and then the shootout began. Nova drew her Malfeasance and filled the Warlock with bullets before he could use his Ace of Spades, causing them to explode and killing him as a result. The second Titan rushed one of the Hunters and shoulder charged him into a wall, crushing and killing said Hunter. Despite that, the two remaining Hunters ganged up on the Titan and unloaded their guns into him until he too fell dead. The original Titan burst into flame and conjured a flaming hammer in his hand. As he threw one and hit another Hunter, setting him ablaze and killing him, the last Hunter too exploded in a burst of fire as he launched up into the air and spun, raining down flaming knives as he did. The knives pierced the body of the Sunbreaker and detonated, killing him.

Ghosts spawned above their respective downed Guardians, hoping to resurrect them, but Nova and the last Hunter, still giving off heat, shook their heads as they aimed at them. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the helmet of the Hunter and gave off an electric burst, which injured Nova. The Hunter fell, dead, as Nova attempted to Blink away, but collapsed in the snow instead.

“You never were good at using Blink, were you?” a voice called out to her. Nova heard the bowstring draw this time and she looked back at the source. Through the swirling snow, she saw a Warlock clad in white. Wait. White.

“You…”

“Sol. Sol Saldo.”


	11. Painful Discoveries

Guess what, everyone? More #fanfics! 😎  
This is a continuation of "Duels & Demons" that will be split into 3 parts. Part 1 is called "The Gunslinger's Hunt". Feel free to critique and enjoy! 👍  
#TheGunslingersHunt

***

1\. Painful Discoveries

***

Nova had gifted Leonidas one of her own ships from her Vault. He appreciated the Rasputin-esque aesthetic of the triangular ship, much more than the blocky one he had prior. Both Nova and Sol escorted him to the Tower, which appeared empty and quiet at the time. Few Guardians ran about, sprinting between the Courtyard and the Bazaar, and likely the Annex as well. Yet, hardly anyone visited the Hangar.

Leonidas spotted Zavala staring wistfully at the Last City, but he felt something was off about him. He tilted his head to the side in confusion before deciding to approach the Vanguard Commander.

“Is everything alright, Zavala?” he asked. Zavala turned to look at him, and Leonidas could see a distant sadness in his glowing eyes.

“All is well, Guardian,” the Titan responded. “Why ask?”

“You seem… lost.”

Zavala’s eyes looked down and away, and he sighed as he turned back to overlook the City.

“Many things have been happening in this system, Guardian.” A tone of sadness rang in his words. “We—the Vanguard, the Guardians—can only do so much.”

“I understand, Commander. I’ll leave you be.”

Zavala hummed sadly in thought as Leonidas began to make his way to the Hangar. Nova watched him run past her, and began to follow him. She knew he intended to speak to his mentor, none other than Cayde-6. He didn’t know what had happened.

Leonidas stared at Colonel in confusion, as the chicken pecked the empty space where Cayde should have been standing. The longer he stared, the more he realized Cayde had been gone a long time.

“He’s not here,” Nova said as she walked up to Leonidas, who whipped around to look at her. She stared at the empty space, her helmet hiding her solemn expression. “And he’s not coming back.”

“What do you mean? Did he get himself stuck in another Vex teleportation loop?”

“I wish.” Nova sighed sadly. She was silent for a while. “He died his final death, Leonidas.”

He looked at her in disbelief, which could be clearly determined behind his helmet. He was stunned.

“What? How? When?”

“The Scorned Barons… Uldren Sov…” Nova’s voice dripped with dangerous venom. She clenched her fists. “They’re all dead now though. Except one. He keeps coming back, but I relish killing him every time.”

Leonidas narrowed his eyes slightly at Nova’s attitude, but he felt overwhelming sadness at learning the death of his mentor. He turned to Colonel and knelt in front of him before reaching out to pet him. The chicken approached his hand, tilting its head from side to side in jerky movements, before cuddling up to the hand.

“Tell me what happened,” Leonidas said to Nova as he gently scratched the chicken’s feathers.

“There was a prison break at the Prison of Elders. I was there with Cayde and Petra to quell the rioting. His Ghost was destroyed by the Baron known as Pirrha, ‘The Rifleman’. Uldren Sov put a bullet in Cayde’s chest. He died right in front of me.”

Leonidas continued to scratch Colonel, who pecked at his arm gently from time to time.

“And the Barons and the Prince are dead, right?” His voice had deepened in anger. He always knew the Awoken Prince was untrustworthy.

“Yes, they are all dead, except one. The leader of the Barons, Fikrul, also known as ‘The Fanatic’. He doesn’t like to stay dead. But I made sure to take everything from him, and continue to do so.”

Leonidas pet Colonel’s head before standing up, and the chicken wandered into a back corner to roost.

“Thank you for avenging him.”

“Out of curiosity, why didn’t you? How didn’t you hear the news?”

“I was stuck for a while. Since Xol tried to attack Rasputin.”

“Stuck?” Nova tilted her head as Leonidas stared at her.

“I’ve been on the Dreadnaught for a bit. I was trapped there, but I finally made it out.”

“Ah, Azazel trapped you there I’m guessing.”

“You’d be correct.”

“Why exactly do you hunt him?”

There was silence for a while. Leonidas never answered. Nova sighed and beckoned him to follow her as she started to walk away.

“Come with me. There’s someone here I think you should meet.”


	12. The Well

To make up for the shorter #fanfic I wrote last time, here's a much longer one with some spicy action! 😎

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

4\. The Well

***

The Hunter stood at the entrance to the great tower that served as the main focal point of the Divalian Mists, dispensing full clips of the Ace of Spades into the horde of Taken and Scorn. A Stalker ran up to him, screeching viciously, waving a club in the air. A shot from Ace caused its head to burst in a contained explosion of fire and dark blue, very corrupted Ether. The creature dropped to its knees and keeled over as Leonidas reloaded. A Taken Knight howled behind him before shooting a splintered stream of fire in his direction. Leonidas dodged to the side and raised Ace, which glowed with a faint aura. A couple shots was all it took to bring down the Knight. He threw a flaming knife at a Taken Goblin, striking its eye and causing it to collapse on itself.

The Hunter looked back over his shoulder just as Nova returned on her Sparrow. She drove it into a Chieftain, jumping off before impact and shooting it. The Sparrow detonated, taking the Chieftain with it. Nova ran over to Leonidas, pumping rounds of Malfeasance into the bodies of the Taken, shredding them to pieces from the ensuing explosions.

"How're you holding up?"

"The Scorn are… interesting."

"Well, they're certainly different from the Fallen. Come on, let's go inside."

Nova dispatched another Taken Knight blocking the path, and the two Guardians made their way into the tower. The Taken roared behind them, but quickly set their sights on the Scorn as the enemy races battled. Nova and Leonidas ascended the steps and made their way up, eventually reaching a great open room. In the middle was a structure Leonidas didn't recognize.

"What is that?"

"That would be the Well." A sizable, concentrated sphere of Light materialized in Nova's hand as she jumped down the ledge and approached the Well. "I hope you're ready, Leonidas."

"Ready for what—"

Nova offered the ball of Light to the Well, activating it instantly. As the ball appeared to be consumed, the Well lit up with energy, and a haze seemed to blanket everything but the general area of the Well itself. Leonidas looked around as the haze covered him, and he quickly found it difficult to breathe. He felt weak and numb, as if the haze were heavy. Wait, was he… drowning? Seeing the immediate danger, he jumped over to Nova, and felt instant relief as he entered the safe zone provided by the energy of the Well. He looked at the Warlock with bewilderment, which would have been visible if he wasn't wearing his helmet.

"What was that?" he gasped as he began to regain his breath. Nova chuckled.

"A hazard. Always stay in the vicinity of the wells."

At that moment, the sounds of Taken spawning rang around the Well. Taken Thrall leaped into the safe zone, twitching violently as they stretched their claws. Nova and Leonidas stood practically back to back, raining bullets on the Thrall as they attempted to swarm the Guardians.

"Why are the Taken here?" Leonidas asked as he threw a grenade, which splintered into smaller ones that began to seek the incoming Thrall.

"They seek the Well, we can't let them have it." Nova charged a grenade in her hand before throwing it up at the ledge just as a Taken Knight spawned. The swirling Void Light consumed it and any other surrounding enemies as she stuck volatile Malfeasance bullets into some Taken Acolytes. Leonidas prepared to throw a knife when suddenly the Taken disappeared. The Well continued to hum with energy.

"What happened?"

"We've completed one charge. One of the smaller ancillary wells should be activating…"

As she spoke, one such well created a bubble of safety in the haze.

"Like that one?" Leonidas said to Nova as he pointed at it with his gun.

"Yes, that's the one." She started running to it, but Leonidas stopped her as he hastily grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, what about the haze?"

"You'll be fine, trust me. But we need to go to it in order to activate it. Just our presence there is enough."

Leonidas sighed as he removed his hand.

"Alright, I'll stay close then."

"Try holding your breath."

The Guardians dashed across to the ancillary well, and it hummed to life. The Taken quickly returned, with more Thrall attempting to swarm them. Leonidas spotted an Acolyte glowing with a strange energy that mimicked the Well's.

"That Taken is different."

"Kill it. You'll thank me later."

Leonidas, braving the haze, ran out to confront the beast. It roared, but it was quickly silenced as a flaming knife embedded itself into its face. The Taken reeled back, and Leonidas finished it off with Ace. As the creature collapse on itself, it dropped a ball of the energy it had been glowing with. Leonidas knew he had to grab it. As soon as he touched it, he became revitalized. The haze continued to blanket him, but it no longer weighed down on him. He could breathe easily. Solar energy surged to its peak within him. He immediately returned to his senses as he heard Nova’s voice calling out to him.

“Leonidas! Kill this Taken!”

He began to run back, and as he did he spotted the Taken in question. It was a Knight that was protected with a white impenetrable shield, but it glowed with the same strange energy as the Acolyte had. Did Nova believe he could hurt it?

He let the Solar energy within him burst forth, consuming his form in fire, as his Ace too surged with Solar Light. He aimed at the Knight, releasing one flaming shot that shattered its shield. The Knight howled and staggered as it took splash damage that set it partially ablaze, but did not yet kill it. Leonidas released another shot, this time into the head of the Knight, causing it to perish in flames. With one shot left, he decided to fire it at a not too distant Taken Hobgoblin, which had been charging its own shot. The flames covering him and Ace dissipated, but he felt the Solar energy within him surging once more. He looked down at himself in awe.

“What is this that I feel? What was that Light I touched?” He looked up at where the Knight had stood to see it had dropped three spheres of Light. Nova dashed past him and picked up one before looking over at him.

“This is called Harmony. It enhances your Light, and protects you in this fog.” She looked at an incoming horde of Taken. Another glowing Acolyte had appeared. Nova leaped into the air as her inner Void Light collected in the palm of her right hand. She thrust it out, sending a concentrated bomb of Void energy that floated slowly down to the Taken. It burst on impact, releasing four smaller bombs that floated to other Taken who happened to survive the initial explosion. Nova grimaced as the Skull on her head seemed to whisper and hum, feeding on the deaths caused by the bomb. Void energy swelled to its peak within her immediately. She threw yet another bomb, causing more devastation to the Taken.

The ancillary well found this to be satisfactory, and it glowed as it completed its charge and its protective bubble began to shrink. Leonidas quickly spotted the next waking ancillary well, and made his way to it. Nova followed shortly after, her arm radiating with Void energy. Once again, her power was at its peak.

“Will we have to activate all these wells?” Leonidas asked as the Taken began to spawn for a third time.

“No. This should be the last one,” Nova replied as she readied herself to leap up into the air.

“And then what?”

“We protect the Well from the Heralds.”

“Heralds?”

Nova threw her bomb at a massive group of Thrall. Leonidas noticed a glowing Acolyte running at him, and he willed his Solar energy to burst forth. It only took a single shot to the Taken’s head to disintegrate it, so he used his last two shots on a Hobgoblin and a Knight. He felt the energy surging once more, when suddenly it stopped. The crushing weight of the haze hit him and he began wheezing. Out of desperation, he dove back into the well’s protective bubble.

“I thought the Harmony was supposed to protect me.”

“It doesn’t last forever. I guess I should’ve told you that—”

A glowing Taken Wizard with a shield appeared, shrieking as it raised its claws. Leonidas took a shot at it, but the bullet bounced off harmlessly.

“Wait, I can do this,” Nova told him as she threw a charged grenade. The shield shattered and the Wizard shrieked again as it recoiled and darted away from the swirling Void energy. With its shield broken, the Guardians teamed up against it, destroying it swiftly. They barely spoke as they continued to clear out Taken, picking up orbs of Harmony, and unleashing their Light upon the creatures of Darkness.

It wasn’t long before the well had reached full charge. The Taken left, and so too did the haze. Before any words could be exchanged, three massive shielded Taken Minotaurs, accompanied by other lesser Taken, spawned around the main Well.

“Those are the Heralds?”

“Yes. We’ll split up for the two in the immediate vicinity of the Well. Then we’ll group back up for the last one.”

And so it was done. Using their supercharged Light, they laid waste to the shields of the Minotaurs and whittled them down. The mutated machines tried to crush the Guardians underfoot, but all attempts were in vain as they were both felled. The final Minotaur tried to torch the Warlock and the Hunter as they approached, but it stood no chance; they were far too synchronized, and destroyed the beast with ease. With the death of the final Herald, the Taken left, and the main Well hummed as it surged with intense energy. A ball of Light materialized in Nova’s hand once more, except this one sparked and twitched erratically.

“This is my last unstable charge, so let’s make it count.” She ran over to the Well and offered the Light to it. The hair on the back of Leonidas’ neck stood, and he turned around to see a Taken amalgamation he had never seen before. The tentacled Servitor-like creature growled lowly as its toothed, circular mouth widened and glowed with Void energy. Thinking fast, he dodged behind a pillar just before three Void bolts slammed into the spot he had been standing. Nova ran up to the creature and stood in front of it as she began to empty her Malfeasance into it.

“Nova, what is that?!”

“We need to kill it! It’s the Plague of the Well!”

A plague? Leonidas felt rage. One of the horrible beasts responsible for poisoning his home. He came out of hiding and began relentlessly shooting at it with Ace. The Taken beast growled as Malfeasance ripped through it and Ace hit its most vulnerable points, but eventually it teleported to another part of the room, where it quickly shielded itself. Leonidas didn’t need Nova to tell him what to do this time. He saw the source of the shield, and dashed towards the blight causing it. He clenched his teeth as he emptied the magazine into the blight, but it was enough to destroy it. He watched as Nova ran up to the Taken and threw a bomb at it. As the bomb detonated, Leonidas swirled with Solar Light, and he fired his three shots into the body of the Taken.

The Guardians watched as the beast imploded, growling in defeat. The other minor Taken disappeared for the last time. A chest appeared at the foot of the Well as the energy within it began to die down.

“Did we do it?” Leonidas asked as he and Nova began to walk to the chest.

“Yes. For now, at least.”

They opened the chest. Nova received a Waking Vigil. Leonidas received a Sleepless and a mysterious blue orb of Light.

“Congratulations,” Nova said to him. “Your first Seed of Light.”

“What’s this for?”

“To hone your Light further. Use it wisely.” Nova extended a hand to him, but in her palm was a purple crystal of sorts. She urged him to take it, so he did.

“What’s this?”

“An offering. We’re going to go talk to the Oracle.”


	13. Anomaly

Fortunately for all you #fanfic readers, I got started on Notoriety and Infamy, the sequel to The Gunslinger's Hunt! It's 3 chapters strong already, but I'll make sure to post them spaced out enough.  
Please enjoy! 😊

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

1\. Anomaly

***

To say that Lightning drew attention was a massive understatement. Though Nova, Sol, and Leonidas tried to hide the Hunter with an apparently infinite source of Arc Light, he drew quite a crowd at the Tower. Guardians tried to look at him and speak to him; a few even tried to touch him. He quickly acknowledged them all, but shied away and pulled his hood further over his head as if to avoid being seen.

“Coming to the Courtyard was a terrible idea,” Leonidas whispered to Nova. She only nodded hurriedly in response as she noticed Zavala was beginning to grow interested in the noise. She quickly grabbed Lightning, ignoring the shocks that ran through her body as a result, and Blinked forward with him in tow. It was just enough to get him out of Zavala’s view. Nova jerked her arms back with a hiss, finally having had enough of the zapping Arc energy. Lightning looked at her in surprise.

“If you wanted to Blink, why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because you can’t—wait, what? Are you trying to imply you can Blink?”

The Hunter did not answer. Instead, he disappeared from view as his own energy cloaked him and allowed his image to become invisible.

“This should help mitigate unwarranted attention, right?” he asked. Nova blinked in surprise, but nodded.

“You and I are having a talk about this. I haven’t seen a Hunter do what you’ve done in years. Much less an Arcstrider such as yourself.” She began to walk forward and beckoned him to follow with her hand. Behind them, Leonidas turned to Sol with wide eyes.

“Sol, that can’t be an ordinary Hunter!”

The Warlock only stared at the vaguely visible outline of the Arcstrider.

“No. He isn’t. I wonder what kind of trick Azazel was able to pull at the Cosmodrome.”

Nova was able to sneak Lightning past not only Ikora but the Drifter as well, who happened to have his back turned to the doorway as he stared at his Bank. It wasn’t until they both Blinked up to a hidden ledge that Lightning allowed himself to become visible again. He removed his helmet, and Nova studied his face: identical to Azazel, down to the long blond hair, the red X mark on his face akin to Nova’s, and the stormy eyes.

“So, who are you?”

“My name is Lightning,” the Hunter replied, giving the Warlock a surprised look. She shook her head.

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Sol and Leonidas climbed up onto the ledge and sat down before the two, though they both regarded Lightning closely.

“You look just like him. Sound like him too,” Leonidas said lowly. Lightning’s eyes seemed to spark with power.

“There is a reason for that,” the Arcstrider began. “I am the opposite of Azazel. His foil. But I was born from his Darkness.”

“He split himself?” Sol asked, tilting his head slightly.

“In a sense, yes. When he started to be consumed by the Darkness due to his infatuation with the Hive and the Taken and their fell gods, his use of Hive magic forced his Ghost to flee. That Ghost, Fenrir, created me in the image of the Light to counter my darker half.”

“So you’re pure Light?” Nova said as she inspected the electricity coursing along his arms as if it were blood running through his veins. The Hunter nodded.

“Then that would explain why your Light never seems to run out,” Leonidas stated in realization.

“I could make it stop, but with my Light I am powerful enough.”

“You’ll need to stop attracting crowds though,” Nova told him rather sternly. “I do ask that you act like any normal Guardian when you’re here in the Tower. It would save a lot of trouble if you did.”

As the Hunter quietly nodded and the lightning sparks around him gradually faded into nonexistence, Sol stood up and looked directly at Nova. From reading his body language, Nova knew nothing good was bound to follow. He beckoned her to follow him as he started to walk away.

“You and I need to have a word, Nova. Now.”


	14. Truths and Decisions

#FanFic

***

Truths and Decisions

***

"Expecting a letter, weren't you? Not anymore. Writing takes too long these days, so this time I'm leaving a voice message. Congratulations, now you know the sound of my voice.

"You remember I wrote about my friends. But I never got around to their decisions. Though, only two of the Guardians I mentioned have chosen a side; the others have been biding their time.

"The nameless Warlock with sapphire skin ending up siding with the Vanguard, or, more accurately, the Praxic Order. He's no fan of the Drifter, and perhaps he's trying to uphold some 'Warlock calling,' though that's a far-fetched belief. He's still upset with me for my choice. But what he doesn't know is that I've been reading the messages Aunor sends him. Heh. Looks like the Praxic Order's starting to work with Drifter. What an interesting turn of events.

"And Azazel? That creepy bastard obviously sided with Drifter. It's too bad that he doesn't have what Azazel wants: the power of Darkness, though I guess his Motes of Dark are the best thing Azazel's gonna get. I'm a bit concerned for Drifter. I consider Azazel a 'friend' I guess, but he's not above threatening Drifter to get what he wants. And if that happens? Well, I already told Drifter I'd watch his back. And I'm always true to my word.

"Would I kill a Guardian? Not willingly I suppose, but there has to be a damn good reason to do so. I would probably kill a Shadow of Yor if they tried to threaten me or my friends and family. But another plain Guardian? That's a tough decision to make. Maybe if they're not above redemption. That's the only way.

"Hey, no need to be afraid of me. I'm capable of showing mercy when I have to. But know I'm also capable of cutting my enemies down too.

"Thanks for sticking around to know me, whoever you are. Cut the feed, Scorpius."

—Message from Nova


	15. Home

The next part of the #fanfic is ready! Sorry if this one's a bit short compared to the others, but please enjoy! 😁

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

3\. Home

***

Leonidas sat in the Queen of Hearts as he followed Nova’s own insectoid ship through the colorful wormhole. The Dreaming City. Nova worried that he wouldn’t be able to enter the world, as she had asked him about possessing some sort of Awoken “talisman” and he revealed that he did not have one. But he wasn’t worried about access. He was worried to see the condition of the world, as Nova had told him of the three-week long looping curse. Suddenly, he and Nova exited the wormhole, and he stood up as he gazed upon the world in awe. He scanned the clouds, the amethyst-decorated rocks and structures, the mists and waters, the mystic greenery… his heart sank as the ship began to descend, and as the clouds parted he saw the blights poisoning the land.

As he touched the ground, he felt the uneven, cracked rocks beneath his boots. He looked up at the blight-ridden sky as he let himself listen to the whisper of the passing breeze, the ringing of a not too distant alarm, the howls of Taken and screeches of Scorn, the explosion of enemy weapons. He heard Nova muttering something about “Rheasilvia” as she examined the blights—

“So it looks like the curse is at its strongest this week,” she said aloud. “Since there’s a lot of blights, and Petra isn’t here in the Mists.” She looked over at Leonidas, who seemed fixated on the both beautiful and diseased scenery. “Hey, are you alright?”

Leonidas didn’t look at her, but he nodded slowly. Tigris manifested herself next to him and regarded her Guardian.

“You’re trying to remember your past, aren’t you?”

Leonidas hummed before answering.

“This is familiar to me. This place, I mean.” He looked at Tigris. “You found me on Earth, but I believe I’m from here. I can feel a connection.”

“I’ve heard many Awoken Guardians say that when they come here for the first time,” Nova chimed in. “I didn’t know you were an Awoken.”

“It’s best if you don’t remember your past, Leonidas,” Tigris told him in a concerned manner.

“I’m not trying to remember my whole past. But I know I’m from here.”

“Then what’s wrong? I can tell you’re distressed.”

Leonidas slowly reached up and pulled his hood back. Nova reached out a hand to stop him.

“Leonidas, wait, this isn’t a safe place like the Tower—”

But he had already removed his helmet. Nova held her breath. His skin was a pale blue, and his slicked hair a darker lavender. His eyes glowed a teal color, sparkling with what appeared to be sadness. A white tiger-like “mask” marking adorned his eyes and nose. Nova could only stare. Though his skin and hair were not a rich blue, and his eyes resembled turquoise more than sapphires, and his tiger mask was nothing like thin red lines and small red dots, he almost looked like… like Sol. Their faces were too coincidentally similar…

Leonidas extended his arm, and Tigris floated to the palm of his hand. He regarded his Ghost, and then Nova.

“This is my home, and this curse has brought ruin upon it.” His expression hardened, making his eyes appear to glow brighter. “I must break it. I must save my home, and my people.”


	16. New Light

What's a better treat than having 2 chapters in a day of the #fanfic? This is the final chapter of #TheGunslingersHunt and the end of part 1. I've already decided to name part 2 "Notoriety and Infamy" for its big focus on Gambit [Prime] and relationships with the Drifter. Also, the fact that "infamous" could be used to describe the story's villain 😅  
I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of part 1! 😍

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

7\. New Light

***

After the Guardians had left Eleusinia, the trip back to the Tower was uncomfortably quiet. That is, until Nova suddenly changed course and made her way to the European Dead Zone. Sol and Leonidas both tried to contact her, but she ignored her comms, so the two were forced to follow her. When they landed, Nova ran off without explanation.

“Nova! Where are you going?” Sol yelled after her. But she did not respond.

“Does she usually do this?” Leonidas asked as he started to follow her. He felt Sol’s hand on his shoulder stop him.

“She’s trying to lead us somewhere. I just haven’t figured out where.”

“Then we should follow her, no?” The Hunter shrugged Sol’s hand off and summoned his Sparrow. The sound alerted Nova, who looked back and summoned her own. The two Guardians sped off from the Trostland down to the Outskirts, with Nova leading the way. Sol hesitated, thinking to report them both to the Vanguard, but he chose to follow them instead to see where they would go.

The Warlock and the Hunter entered the Whispered Falls at the far end of the Outskirts, and began to clear through the Fallen that attacked them. Nova guided Leonidas to a transporter of sorts as she fired a Warmind-esque shotgun at a Fallen Captain.

“Leonidas, you see that transporter right there? Go through it.”

“It works?”

“Yes. It will take you directly to the Cosmodrome. Go, I won’t be too far behind.”

Leonidas’ boots crunched through the hard-packed snow. He walked around the junked and rusted cars before looking back at the transporter. He didn’t expect it to work as well as it did. At that moment, Nova appeared on the transporter’s pad, and she holstered her shotgun in favor of the smoking Malfeasance.

“See? I told you it works.”

The two observed the blights that hung in the area, and there was a dark miasma on top of the wall as Leonidas’ earlier vision had shown. The Hunter pointed at it.

“He must be there. I’m sure of it.”

The transporter suddenly hummed again, prompting the two to whip their heads back to look. Sol stalked over to Nova angrily, pointing at her.

“I told you this place is quarantined!”

“So what? Are you really going to listen to Zavala’s new rule over trying to stop Azazel?”

A screech of a Wizard and a few low growls of the Hive interrupted the Warlocks’ argument. A group of Acolytes crawled out from behind the cars, and a wave of Thrall screeched and began to charge at the three Guardians. A handful of Knights stood behind the Acolytes, and a pair of Wizards also made their presence known.

“It’s an army…” Tigris said quietly. Leonidas aimed his Ace of Spades.

“We can take them.”

“No, WE can take them,” Sol interjected as he started to walk forward.

“Leave the Hive to us, Leonidas, you go for Azazel. We’ll clear a path.”

A pair of flaming wings emerged from Sol’s back and a flaming sword materialized in his hand. As he rose into the air, flames trailed his robes as if he were a phoenix. He began to swing his sword down at the Hive, firing bolts of Solar energy that disintegrated the horrific creatures in smoke and ash. Conversely, Nova radiated with Void energy, and she began to launch near constant Void bombs thanks to the energy her Skull was siphoning from the Hive souls being consumed by the blast. The Knights in the back began to fire their Splinter and Boomer cannons, trying to rain Solar and Arc energy on the Warlocks to stop them. Their efforts proved to be in vain, as they too were disintegrated in flame and darkness.

Leonidas weaved through the chaos and the rampant Light energy that littered the battlefield as he made his way up to the wall. The Wizards stretched their claws out towards him in an attempt to attack him, but they were swiftly cut down by the Warlocks. The Hunter continued to run forward, trying to get as close to the wall as possible, and he looked up at the miasma. He saw him. Azazel. The Hunter looked down at him, most likely smirking underneath his Taken-looking helmet, and was holding a handful of Motes. He raised his free hand up, and suddenly two massive Darkblades crawled out of green sigils that had formed on the snow. Leonidas was forced to dodge backwards, performing a graceful backflip that was just enough to get him away from the two axes that slammed down where he had been standing just moments before. The giant Knights growled as they lifted their axes and faced Leonidas.

Fortunately, a Void bomb thrown at them was enough to critically injure them both. The Darkblades stumbled as their helmets came off, but Sol was able to use the last of his Daybreak to finish them both off. He floated down to the ground as his wings and flames dispersed.

“What are you waiting for, Leonidas? Go!” Nova shouted. She stumbled slightly, exhausted from having used so much of her Void Light.

“I wouldn’t,” Azazel called down from above. Suddenly, several Hive Tombships appeared to leave behind a whole host of Hive that surrounded the three Guardians. They stepped back until they stood quite literally back to back, looking in all directions.

“Now what?” Sol asked.

“Now I Take them,” Azazel responded nonchalantly as he raised the Motes up into the air. The miasma began to swirl more aggressively, but then it took on the fearful form of a Likeness of Oryx. Oryx’s claws began to glow brightly as he raised his hands up, and the Hive began to seemingly collapse in on themselves or be consumed by small blights. They were being Taken.

Sure enough, the Hive all returned as their Taken counterparts, twitching violently and making echoing noises reminiscent of their old sounds. The Thrall slashed at the air, their heads twitching. Taken Ogres stood on the outer edge of the ring that enclosed the Guardians, with massive spines protruding from their backs. Azazel chuckled lowly as Oryx loomed behind him, spreading his great wings. The Guardians took deep breaths as they aimed their respective guns at the twisted creatures. This would likely be their last battle.

As the creatures began to charge and fingers were beginning to squeeze triggers, a single lightning strike slammed into a portion of the army, disintegrating all Taken in the vicinity. As the rest of the Taken stopped to look at the result of the lightning, Arc energy began to spark violently through the waves of enemies. Something was moving through them and killing them as it did. Suddenly, an Arcstrider, wrapped in a thick cloak of electricity, leaped up into the air and raised his Arc Staff high, which he then proceeded to slam down on the ground and the Taken that were unfortunate enough to be in the way.

In the moment of distraction, Leonidas quickly slipped away and began to climb up onto the broken and rusted beams and cracked rocks that lined the wall in order to make his way up. He took a glance at Azazel, who seemed surprised at the newcomer, but it wasn’t long before he noticed the Gunslinger making a break for him. He clutched his drained Motes tightly and stepped back as Oryx turned his attention to Leonidas, roaring at him before stretching his claws out towards him.

Down below, the Arcstrider’s Arc energy did not exhaust, and the swings of his Arc Staff did not waver. Though it piqued Nova’s interest, she continued to rain bullets of her Malfeasance into the Taken, ripping their bodies apart with the bullets and explosions. Sol mowed down the rest with his trusty Duty Bound. The Ogres were swiftly taken care of by the Hunter, as they stood no chance against his crackling, earth-shattering Light. With every swing came a massive crackle of Arc energy that spread through the horde of Taken and left behind melted snow and cracked earth. With every ground slam, he split the earth. With his help, the Warlocks made short work of the Taken, though they were left with little to no ammo in their weapons. Nova studied the Arcstrider, who continued to spark with electricity. He held his staff firmly and looked up at the other two Hunters and Oryx.

Leonidas did not expect himself to be as swift as he was, but then he figured he wouldn’t be a real Hunter if he wasn’t. He maneuvered gracefully around Oryx’s axion bolts as he scaled the wall using knives and his own jumping skills. On the way up, he had asked Tigris to have him don the Shards of Galanor once again, as he figured he would need it for the shadow of the Taken King. He hoisted himself up on top of the wall, where Oryx roared at him and once again attempted to fire his axion bolts. The Gunslinger jumped up to evade the attack before throwing a set of flaming knives at the Likeness’ face, setting him slightly on fire. The Taken King reeled back, flapping his mighty wings aggressively, when Leonidas’ body burst into flame and he conjured more powerful flaming knives between his fingers. He gracefully spun around and flung them at Oryx, which pierced his body and exploded. Oryx howled with pain and rage as he seemed to collapse atop the wall. Feeling his Solar Light soaring thanks to the Shards, he was able to rain another barrage of flaming blades on the Taken King, which was just enough to set the beast ablaze and destroy him in fire.

One knife overshot its target and landed at Azazel’s feet, which promptly exploded. The Dark Hunter was sent flying backwards, dropping his Motes as he hit the edge of the top of the wall and began to fall. He was able to sink a knife into the side of the wall, despite his serious burns and injuries that he had just sustained. He looked down at the two Warlocks and the still sparking Arcstrider, but as he heard Leonidas’ approaching footsteps he quickly turned his head to look up at him. His eyes looked down the barrel of the Ace of Spades as Leonidas aimed it directly at his head.

“It’s over, Azazel.”

Azazel started to chuckle.

“Did you really think it would be so easy?”

The Arcstrider below tightened his grip on his staff, releasing a small pulse of Arc energy as he watched some restorative Light begin to swirl around Azazel, healing his injuries. Leonidas hesitated in surprise, his finger pausing on the trigger. With a sinister smile under his helmet, Azazel disappeared in a burst of black particles and eerie green light. Leonidas cursed under his breath. Azazel had escaped him yet again. He nearly leaped off the top of the wall when the crackling Arc Staff stabbed into the wall right where Azazel had been dangling, bursting through the last remaining bits of particles and light. He looked down at the Arcstrider, who was slowly lowering his arm. He came to the realization that the new Hunter was after Azazel as well.

After carefully making his way down using his knife and the Arc Staff, Leonidas approached the still crackling Arcstrider and offered him his weapon back. He took it with a simple nod.

"May I ask who you are?" Leonidas said to him. The Arcstrider looked down and began to examine himself as the Arc energy around him diminished but did not disappear.

"You saved us," Nova said as she stepped forward. "But, I must admit, there's something… unique about you."

"Certainly you must have a name, Hunter?" Sol quipped, as he realized the Arcstrider still had yet to answer Leonidas. The Hunter's staff disappeared in a burst of electricity and sparks. He examined his hands, watching lightning coil around his fingers and wrapping around his arms. He opened his mouth to speak, and the voice was shockingly familiar. It was undeniable.

Azazel's voice.

"My name… is Lightning."


	17. Purification

Got lucky during lunch today! Here's the next chapter of the #fanfic, coming in more on time today! Enjoy!

#LightAndDarkness

***

3\. Purification

***

The two Hunters entered the Blind Well, and Leonidas quickly noticed that the main well seemed to have been recently charged. As he inspected the Well, he quickly caught sight of the numerous Blights that hung around the room; some stuck on the walls while others floated in place. One particularly large Blight hung from the ceiling in the back of the room and appeared to pulsate.

“He’s been here,” Lightning said matter-of-factly. “But, why did he come here?”

“This Well is important to my people,” Leonidas replied, his voice low and quiet, dangerous even. He was furious that Azazel would take advantage of his people’s curse like this. “Losing it is unacceptable. But I’m not sure why he would’ve come here besides wanting to poison it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Besides all the Blights here, the main well there has been activated and charged. What did he want from it?” As Leonidas approached the main well, he realized he didn’t have any charges of Light. He figured Nova would have them, but they couldn’t just sit around and wait for her. Lightning inspected the Well curiously, and then he started sparking violently with Arc energy. Leonidas looked at him with an uneasy expression. “Lightning? What are you doing?”

The Arcstrider placed his hand on one of the Well’s slots for charges of Light and emitted a powerful wave of Arc energy. Electricity coursed through the Well and it began to hum to life as it started to emit a green glow and produce its bubble of safety. Lightning stepped away from the Well as it coursed with power, and he created an Arc Staff in his hand. He looked over at Leonidas, who seemed surprised.

“What? I gave it the charge it needed.”

Suddenly, Taken began to spawn en masse; it was as if the seams of reality had been violently torn. Blights around the room pulsated sickeningly as Taken Thrall and Acolytes began to jump down into the Well’s bubble until it seemed like there was a sea of black swarming towards the Hunters. Several Blights began to burst to reveal more Taken that had been stirring within.

Leonidas began to fire his Ace of Spades with utmost concentration, trying to keep the creatures from overwhelming him. He combined the bullets with grenades and flaming knives, creating and maintaining explosions and waves of fire. Lightning tore through the black wave with ease, cutting through them with his staff and waves of limitless Arc Light.

“These Taken aren’t the same as the last time we did this!” Tigris exclaimed to Leonidas.

“I can tell. These ones are almost endless.”

“If I were you, I would just burn through them.”

With a small chuckle, Leonidas leaped into the air, his body aflame, and rained flaming knives on the enemy. With his Shards of Galanor, he was able to assist Lightning in clearing out the swarm of Taken quickly. To his surprise, Taken Knights and Ogres also spawned and crawled out of bigger Blights to wreak havoc upon the Guardians and the Well, but they were all cut down like the rest. Arc and Solar Light flared within the Well’s bubble, burning and electrocuting the creatures of Darkness into nothingness. The Light they produced kept feeding the Well enough so that even the ancillary wells were becoming just as charged. The energy began to burn through Blights, cleansing the corruption.

As electricity flew and flames burned, the addition of Void energy bursting through the swarm soon became apparent. With another burst of Void energy and the disintegration of more Taken, Nova burst through the dark sea, her whole body radiating with Void Light. She warped towards another group of Taken and charged her Void energy before releasing it in a concentrated burst from her body, disintegrating the said group of Taken. She Blinked up into the air as the Void energy surrounding her began to flow into her right arm instead, becoming more concentrated in her hand. The Skull on her head whispered to her as she launched a Void bomb into the corrupted beings, which splintered and wiped out several more flowing the initial detonation. The whispers sounded gleeful, and the Warlock’s inner Void Light soared.

“I see now what you meant when you said you’d seen what Azazel’s done here,” Nova called out to Leonidas as she threw another Void bomb. “This is different from the curse, and these Taken aren’t the same. They more powerful. More dangerous.”

As all the wells began to glow with power, the main well’s bubble disappeared as well as the hazardous mist outside. More Blights began to burn away due to the sheer amount of Light, but the Taken continued to spawn and Blights continued to spill out their living contents in sickly goo. Three large Taken Ogres with shields joined the swarm, bursting forth from Blights like if they were eggs, and attempted to attack the Guardians with their eye blasts. Nova quickly spotted the glowing Taken Knights that seemed to flank the Ogres, and she didn’t hesitate to make quick work of them. As she picked up the orbs of Harmony to help refill her Light, the Ogres turned their attention to her.

“Leonidas, help Nova!” Lightning called out to the Gunslinger as he spun in a circle, firing bolts of Arc energy from the Arc Blades that had just replaced his staff seconds before. “I can clear the Taken!”

Leonidas immediately jumped over to Nova and grabbed an orb of Harmony for himself. He continued to throw flaming knives, becoming more precise with each throw. It wasn’t long before the Ogres’ shields were broken, and the Gunslinger and the Voidwalker made quick work of them all with their soaring Light. As soon as the last Ogre fell, the swarm of Taken stopped their charge. However, the Arcstrider did not. He cut through the rest of the creatures until none were left, unaware that his Arc Light was continuing to charge the Well. As soon as he cut down the last Thrall, the Well hummed with more power and glowed brightly. The remaining Blights burned away at a much faster rate.

“So that’s how you activated the Well,” Nova remarked. “Interesting.”

The massive Blight in the back of the room began to pulsate faster and started to emanate a glow from within. Through the glow, the Guardians glimpsed the form of an Ogre as it stretched its claws out to rip at its disgusting shell. With a single rake of its glowing claws, the giant Taken Ogre tore through the Blight and landed on the ground as Taken goo and a sickly glowing white and teal fluid dripped from the ripped egg-like enclosure. The beast roared furiously as a shield formed around it.

“Isn’t that the Plague of the Well?” Leonidas asked, feeling his stomach churn slightly.

“Well, yes, but it’s Taken…? It’s normally just a Hive Ogre… and it doesn’t spawn like that…”

The Ogre slammed its fists into the ground and began to barrage the Guardians with a volley of eye blasts and axion bolts; the spines on its back twitched as if they were spidery legs. Lightning leaped up to the two and began to spin his staff out in front of him. They hadn’t even noticed him change his weapon yet again.

“Do what you have to to bring his shield down. I’ll cover you.”

Nova motioned for Leonidas to follow her, and they ran over to one of the Ogre’s two main blind spots. Two Taken Wizards floated in the spot and began to launch Solar bolts at the two Guardians. Nova made quick work of them with her Malfeasance, and they each dropped some sort of spherical relic. Nova grabbed one and turned to Leonidas.

“Catch.” The Voidwalker tossed the orb to the Gunslinger, who caught it with ease. As he did, the orb seemed to spark with some kind of volatile energy.

“What do I do with this?”

“Throw it at the Ogre. It should be enough to break his shield.”

True to Nova’s word, the shield shattered the moment the orb made contact with it, and the Ogre within staggered slightly. The three Guardians took their chance and unleashed their Light upon the Taken beast. The Plague fell quickly, collapsing in on itself in an explosion of Solar, Arc, and Void energy. As it did, the remaining Blights in the room either shrank and disappeared or burst and burned away due to the Light.

Lightning turned back towards the Well, which began to die down following its full charge. In the slot where he had first touched the Well sat some sort of amethyst crystal, which he picked up with care. He inspected it closely for a long time.

“This.” He turned to Nova and Leonidas and showed them the crystal. “This is what he came for.”

“Damn it! Of course he would’ve come here for an Offering!” Nova snapped and she looked away towards the entrance to the Well. “The Oracle can’t be safe!”

As if on cue, Leonidas’ comms sparked to life.

“Cousin! There’s been an emergency!”

“What is it, Petra?”

“It’s the Guardian, Azazel! He’s led an army of Hive and Taken to the Oracle!”


	18. An Electric Gambit

Next chapter of the #fanfic, as promised! Enjoy!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

4\. An Electric Gambit

***

The Ghosts returned to their respective Guardians, who began looking around, though Leonidas was more frantic.

“Invader on the field, sister!” Drifter said to Nova. “You gonna get ‘im?”

“I would, but I haven’t seen him yet.”

Leonidas’ eyes narrowed as he saw a red Titan jump out of the large ruins and towards the Bank, except the Titan’s body suddenly exploded with electricity and he slammed his fists down into the ground. Nova cursed under her breath as she heard the sound. As she prepared to head towards the source, Leonidas held his arm out to stop her.

“I got it. You keep killing these Fallen.”

“That’s a terrible idea for several reasons.”

But the Gunslinger had already taken off towards the charging Titan, feeling his Solar Light growing. If the Invader had seen Lightning, he would likely not hesitate to finish him off.

Lightning tried to push himself up to his feet, but he found that it was difficult to in his weakened state. Without his overwhelming Light to empower him, he would be finished for sure. He heard the sound of angry Arc energy crackling a ways next to him, and that’s when he spotted the Titan clad in glowing red armor—but also outfitted with a menacing red aura about him—slamming his electrified fists into the rocks. The Invader turned his head towards Lightning, and the two made eye contact. As Lightning clutched his wound tighter and continued to force himself to his feet, he felt his Arc Light start to awaken. Electricity began to course through his body, and his wound began to spark violently. The Titan charged at him at high speeds, empowered by his own Arc Light. As the Invader came closer, there was a sudden rain of flaming blades that pierced the leaping Titan’s body and exploded. The Invader’s body burned away in ash, leaving behind his Ghost, who seemed quite surprised that its Guardian had been so easily felled.

“Are you alright?” Leonidas asked as he slid over to Lightning, offering his hand which was still radiating with heat. The Gunslinger winced as Drifter laughed over comms, congratulating him on killing the Invader. Lightning clasped his hand and began to stand.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve learned that I can’t stay in one spot.” He gently eased his hold over his wound, and Leonidas was able to see the light coming from it.

“Ok, I know you said you’re basically pure Light, but that doesn’t look right…”

There was a sound of multiple Motes being deposited into the Bank. The Hunters looked over to see a large amount of Taken energy flowing up into the dark portal as Nova drew her arm back.

“You’re a horrible person,” Drifter quipped over comms to Nova. She chuckled. At the same time, the friendly Titan who had invaded earlier, and had returned unnoticed at some point, deposited his own share of Motes to send yet another Blocker to the opposing team. The Titan offered to fist bump the Voidwalker, who enthusiastically accepted. She turned her head to regard the approaching Hunters, and nodded at them.

“How are you, Lightning?”

“Better.”

“Good. We’re nearly there from what it looks like. Mind grabbing more Motes?”

As the match continued, the friendly Titan took several more opportunities to invade the other side, though the opposing side tried to deliver setbacks in the form of multiple Blockers. Over comms, Drifter laughed with glee as the opposing team was wiped and high-value targets were destroyed. Once the final few Motes were deposited into the Bank, it locked up and sank into the ground as a massive Taken dropped from the portal. The giant Taken Captain roared as it formed a shield around itself and created two Taken Wizards. Nova was able to throw a Void bomb at both—yet another bomb she had thrown in the match—and kill one but injured the other. Lightning stepped forward, sparking with Arc energy and summoned his Arc Staff.

“Leave them to me,” he commanded.

“Lightning…”

But the empowered Arcstrider took off before Nova could finish her warning. He struck the Wizard several times with the staff before it fell in a violent burst of electricity. Suddenly, another Wizard spawned over a dim pool of light, along with two Taken Vandals that immediately attempted to shield the Wizard. Lightning ran over to them and made quick work of them within their shields before engaging the Wizard. A single swing cut the dark creature in two, and it collapsed in on itself. The Taken Captain’s shield was brought down as the pool of light began to glow brightly, and Lightning slammed his staff into the ground. His doing so sent a wave of Arc energy along the ground at the Captain, splitting the ground and charring the grass. The Captain stumbled slightly as it was hit and electrified, but it growled in anger and began to fire its cannon at the Guardians. Lightning was preparing to strike again, as he held his hands out to likely form another staff, when he felt a hand tightly grasp his shoulder. He looked back to see Nova somewhat glaring at him, twitching from the shocks he was inadvertently giving her.

“Don’t waste your energy. His shield is only down for a few seconds, and we can’t do much damage to him this time around.”

The Hunter shrugged her hand off and conjured two electrified blades in his hands. Nova looked at them in surprise. Arc Blades. The Arc Blades of Bladedancers.

“I can do it.” Lightning ran forward, Blinking to cover distance. The Captain prepared to stomp, but the Hunter Blinked up to its face instead and began slashing at it wildly. The Titan, also just as surprised as Nova and Leonidas, took a moment to charge at the Captain, summoning a flaming hammer in his hand once again. He jumped up and swung at the Taken with the hammer, setting it on fire and weakening it.

One of the Captain’s secondary arms swung out and slapped the Titan aside, but the Guardian quickly recovered as he burst into flame and conjured a much more fiery, more volatile hammer in his hand. The Sunbreaker began to throw as many hammers as he could at the Taken, setting it ablaze and injuring it further as Lightning continued to hack away at it with his blades, Blinking all around it to make sure he never stopped attacking it.

When the Titan’s flames died, Nova and Lightning took their opportunity to throw grenades at the Captain. The pool of light was starting to dim and die, and Nova knew they were running out of time before the creature’s shield came back up. An alarm sounded once more. An Invader.

Suddenly, Lightning Blinked to the Taken’s face once more and plunged his blades into its glowing eye before allowing gravity to pull him back down to the ground. The Arc Blades tore through the Captain’s face, neck, chest, and torso, with violent electricity sparking from the cuts all the while. As the Hunter pulled his blades out and finally returned to the ground, the Captain collapsed in on itself with a massive burst of Arc energy. The Primeval was dead. There was silence. Even the Invader stopped.

Suddenly, the comms sparked. A wild cheer.

“Now that was somethin’! I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time! Stop by, old Drifter’s gotta meet you for himself.”


	19. Demon

#fanfic  
#DuelsAndDemons

***

Part 3: Demon

***

Nova dropped her sword and tackled Sol to the ground while also pushing him back a few feet. She felt the Future Safe 10 dig into her armor as a result, cutting shallowly into her torso. She winced and grimaced as the sword dug in deeper, injuring her further, as she fell on it. As the two Warlocks fell, an arrow of pure Void Light pierced the snow covered ground and exploded into a swirling orb of Void, which then sprang tendrils that latched onto the other six Guardians present. They looked around in panic as they struggled to escape the tether, but then things got worse. The Hunters, the Titans, and the one Warlock were consumed by the Void energy, but not a single body was left behind. Instead, Motes were left in their wake, six Motes from the six Guardians.

The tether shrank into nothingness, and a Hunter walked into the area. Sol pushed Nova off his sword, and she collapsed weakly into the snow. Sol called back his Trinity Ghoul to replace his Future Safe and drew the bowstring back, aiming for the Hunter’s hood.

“Azazel…!”

The Hunter chuckled darkly.

“Hello, old friend. Did you miss me?”

Nova summoned Scorpius in secret, concealing him with her robes, and he healed her quickly before disappearing again. She pushed herself up to her feet and looked back at Azazel.

“Ah, the devil Hunter returns! I was starting to wonder if Shin got to you.”

“Shin Malphur? Don’t make me laugh.”

Azazel sidestepped the arrow Sol fired, then proceeded to collect the Motes, inspecting them as he grabbed them. The Motes reflected their paltry light on his hood, yet his helmet also seemed to absorb any light cast on it.

“How…?” Sol questioned, his voice quivering with shock and rage.

“What? Make Motes out of Guardians?” Azazel closed his fist on the Motes, holding them tightly. “I’ve been doing some research.”

A slug radiating with Darkness stabbed into Azazel’s knee, crippling him. He turned his attention away from the Motes and to Nova, who held the smoky Malfeasance in her hand.

“Looks like this works pretty well on you, considering your armor’s all taken from… well, Taken.”

“I didn’t think you would backstab me like this, Nova,” Azazel chuckled darkly as he slowly straightened back up. Underneath her helmet, Nova’s eye twitched once.

“You found my messages. They weren’t meant for you.”

“I thought we were friends, you and I.”

“I cannot let this stand, Azazel. Partners or not, I cannot let you continue harvesting Guardians for… what, exactly? What is your motive?”

Azazel snickered before turning away and strolling back out into the open area of The Derelict. Was he trying to get away?

“We have to catch him, Nova,” Sol spoke up as he stood. “We can’t let him get away with those Motes.”

“Did you think I was just going to stand here and watch him leave?”

The two Warlocks followed after Azazel, discovering that he had set tripmines along the path. They ducked and weaved their way around the lasers, taking care not to set any off, and approached Azazel, who stood before the gateway at the bottom of the platforms. He stared into the empty space within the ring, Motes still in hand.

“Would you two mind being test subjects for me?” he asked, his gaze still fixated on the gateway. Sol drew his Trinity Ghoul’s bowstring.

“Hand the Motes over, Azazel.”

“Always playing the hero, eh, Sol?” Azazel turned around slowly to face the Warlocks. “The heroic ‘White Knight’.”

“Azazel, just hand over the Motes,” Nova said sternly, aiming Malfeasance at his head.

“You were never the hero type, Nova. What compels you to want to be now?”

“I’ve made deals. I’ve made promises. I’ve taken sides. I’m only upholding my own sense of honor.”

“How pitiful.”

The gateway suddenly activated, exerting a strong pull that inevitably sucked in the three Guardians, pulling them into The Haul. Azazel raised his fist, the Motes glowing brightly. He smiled cruelly underneath his helmet. The sound of swirling wind and energy alerted the Warlocks.

“Nova, the portal’s open…” Sol told her rather nervously. Nova froze.

“That’s not the portal…”


	20. Experiment

#fanfic  
#DuelsAndDemons

***

Part 4: Experiment

***

A giant blight materialized above where the portal would be before it finally burst open to reveal the Likeness of Oryx, a shadowy echo of the Taken King himself. He roared at both Nova and Sol before bombarding them with axion bolts from his claws. Azazel himself retreated a fair distance away, still tightly clutching the now dimmer Motes. He snickered darkly to himself as he watched his experiment unfold.

Oryx flapped his great wings mightily as he attempted to overwhelm the Warlocks. Sol Blinked away and fired an arrow at Oryx’s head to draw his attention. The King growled and set his three eyes on the Awoken, and stretched out his glowing claws towards him. Nova could feel the raw, explosive power of Void Light swelling within her, but it continued to build up; it was not yet at its limit. She clenched her teeth as she began to empty a full clip of Malfeasance into the giant Taken’s head, body, and wings. Oryx roared once more, louder this time, as the slugs detonated three separate times; for a moment, it appeared that the Taken King began to falter, as his wings flapped slower and he seemed to slunch forward weakly. However, he twisted his body around and exited the plane of existence for a moment before reappearing behind the Warlocks, no longer in a stunned state. He stretched out his claws on both hands this time and turned them palm up as a dark miasma swirled around the torn ends of his robes.

“Sol! He’ll kill us if we don’t stun him!”

“Can’t you just shoot him with fifteen bullets again?”

“It’s going to take a lot more than that…”

Sol looked at Nova, and she looked at him. They nodded in agreement. The Void Light within Nova reached its peak, just as it had in Sol. Nova willed the energies to come forth, blanketing her body in Void energy as she drew her arm back. She had done this many times before; it was the first ability she had ever achieved full mastery in.

The raw power of the Void began to collect in her hand, causing her entire arm to glow bright purple. The Skull on her head hummed and whispered as she collected the entirety of the Void energies within her inside her palm. She glanced over at Sol; he too was consumed in Void Light, his arm aglow with the purple energy. He met her gaze. They nodded once again.

Together, the Warlocks leaped into the air and thrust their empowered hands forward, launching giant spheres of concentrated Void energy. Their density caused them to float slowly through the air, but they sought their target with ease. Upon coming into contact with the Taken King, the spheres burst violently, causing Oryx to flinch and cease his attack as the miasma at his feet dispersed. The spheres split into four smaller ones each, which then curved back towards Oryx, bringing him down to his knees. This was their chance.

Sol drew forth his Perfect Paradox and began to unload its rounds into the great Taken, while Nova began to empty magazine after magazine of Malfeasance, creating detonations every five bullets. Each shot stunned him further, and he tried several times to rise back up into the air to no avail. His wings fluttered and faltered, and he could only roar and growl in fury and pain. In the distance, Azazel scowled. He was tempted to use the Motes once more to summon more Taken, until he heard a mysterious sound: someone else had come through the gateway.


	21. Warlock Nova V

I can at least do the daily bunker clear solo now 😂  
Also finally got to rank 3 and got a Seventh Seraph Carbine. Have yet to try it. But most importantly I need to work on Horseman so I can tackle the Quarry tomorrow 😅  
That aside, final #fanfic entry for now! Maybe I'll come up with another one in the future... 👀

#WarlockNova

V.

***

The wind whipped the Voidwalker’s robes violently as snow billowed around her and her Ghost. The blizzard continued to obscure the object she was trying to inspect, so much so that she had had enough. She raised her right arm and it burst into flame, as did the rest of her body. The heat of the Solar Light allowed for a pocket of air and space to form around her, while rapidly melting the snow off of the bizarre horned helmet buried in the snow. Her Ghost floated down and scanned it, though he was forced to move aside when his Guardian reached down to pick it up.

“Is it what I think it is?”

“Felwinter’s Helm.”

The Warlock’s grip on the helmet tightened. She was troubled by this.

“How did this end up out here? This should have been locked away in that bunker with SIVA…”

“Are you implying something broke into the bunker?”

“Damnit. Likely another one of Eramis’ pets.”

“Eramis? Isn’t that the Baroness trying to lead the House of Devils now?”

“Not trying. Is.”

“Right. You think they’re trying to get their claws on SIVA again?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Which means we’ll have to find a way to contain the situation, again.” The Warlock’s fingers glided along the helmet, heating up and burning away any red wires and black diamonds to clean it.

“Want me to transmat it into the Vault?”

“Please.”

In an instant, the helmet disappeared from the Guardian’s flaming hands. She held an arm out to melt the snow in front of her as the flames on her body billowed wildly in the wind.

“Can we get out of here now?”

“No. I came here for something else.”

“Why do we somehow always end up back here in the Cosmodrome?”

“Because a lot goes wrong here.”

“What happened this time?”

“...You’ll see.”

The Guardian continued forward towards the wall, her Solar Light only going out once in the safety of the concrete and metal of which the wall was composed.

“I would appreciate it if you could just tell me things for once.”

The Warlock sighed.

“Ok, fine. I… made a mistake.”

“What did you do?”

“I’d rather show you.”

“Why is it always the Warlocks who do these crazy things,” the Ghost muttered under his breath. His Guardian whipped around to face him faster than the wind outside, pointing a finger to his eye.

“Do NOT compare me to the likes of Toland and Osiris,” she spat bitterly. She wasn’t usually snappy. Her nerves must have been significantly rattled.

“Look, I just want to know what you did. Why don’t you ever tell me these things?”

The Warlock relaxed and lowered her arm as she exhaled deeply.

“It’s too much to explain without a visual. Besides, we’re almost there.”

“Did you find SIVA? Splicers?”

“I’d say worse.”

As the two passed through the wall and exited on the other side, the Ghost slowly began to understand. Blights of various sizes littered the area.

“Are the Taken here?”

“No. I planted those blights here.”

“Why?”

“To generate an army of Taken for myself, why else?”

“...Ok, so what’s the issue then?”

“It’s… what I Took.”

Sounds of clicking and chittering echoed around them. The Ghost instinctively moved closer to his Guardian.

“What was that?”

“One of my abominations.”

“Nova, explain. Please.”

The Warlock spread her arms in a motion to show off the room.

“I meant to Take any spare Devils that still crawled along these walls, so that SIVA wouldn’t be a threat. But I didn’t realize SIVA had come so close to this place.”

Something hissed in a dark corner. The Ghost turned to look at it, but he saw nothing.

“That doesn’t explain much…”

“Turns out I ended up making a lot of abominations, Scorpius.”

A black hand with glowing white and red claws emerged from the shadows. The Ghost recoiled with a horrified beeping noise as a Taken Dreg crawled out towards him and his Guardian. But it was no ordinary Taken. Its eye glowed white and red like its claws, but most notable were the red wires adorning its body. Black diamonds with glowing red grooves lined the wires, and emitted small clouds of red particles. SIVA mites.

“Please tell me you can control that thing!”

More Taken emerged from the pipes and girders. Shanks. Vandals. Captains. All were Taken, but modified with SIVA. The Dreg rose up on its spindly augmented legs and approached the Warlock, but she raised her left hand up. The Taken energy swirling in her gauntlet intensified. At once, the Taken all knelt or bowed before her as a sign of their servitude.

“Taken Splicers…” the Ghost remarked quietly. Under her helmet, the Warlock smiled. All teeth.

“Mine to command.”

***


	22. Warlock Nova IV

Shaxx's mixtape is 🔥 I listened to the whole thing yesterday and caught a few familiar themes in there, like Heretical Omen (Zulmak's theme), the Hive rave that plays at Crota in the Beyond mission, the heroic sounding part of the Ghaul fight, a tidbit of the Rise of Iron theme, a "sitting in orbit" theme, etc. Shaxx's Crucible hype voicelines make it perfect 😂  
Anyway, next part of the #fanfic coming up! ❤

#WarlockNova

IV.

***

Nova had expected a reaction like this. The Drifter yelled at her, scolded her, paced around worriedly while muttering to himself, all while she stood nearby, her head hung like a child being scolded by their father. She smiled under her helmet. A father. That’s what the Drifter felt like to her, especially now.

The Lightbearer took a deep breath and leaned back against a railing, rubbing the corner of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” he asked, exasperated. The Warlock had lost count of how many times he had asked. Ten times? Twenty?

“I understand this puts a target on your back,” she told him. “So I’ve already been keeping my distance.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Almost a year.”

“After you killed that crazy Hunter, right?”

“I didn’t kill him. Leonidas did.”

“Right.” A sigh. “Kid, you’re messing with things you don’t understand.”

“I understand a little more now. I’m keeping it under wraps… though this time, more figuratively.”

“That doesn’t make things any better.”

“I know.”

The Drifter moved his hand from his face and looked at Nova.

“Why are you telling me this? Is it out of trust or something?”

“Yes, but I also need your help.”

“Here we go.”

The Warlock held out her arms, the chrome gauntlets reflecting purple light from the groove etched in it. The left one still had Taken goo on it from where she failed to scrub it well enough.

“You think you could make me something to channel this energy through? Something like…”

“My bank?”

The Voidwalker nodded. The Drifter rubbed his chin, looking disappointed but deep in thought.

“I could. Need your help though.”

“Whatever you need.”

After her fourth trip to the stars and leaving some Phaseglass in the Drifter’s hands, Nova retired to her lonely spot near the ramen shop in the Tower, resting on several crates. Her left gauntlet lay on the ground next to her, now satisfactorily clean. She examined her afflicted arm: black and spiny, though the spines and her fingers were a glowing teal that faded to glowing white tips. It twitched lightly.

“No smoke,” Scorpius chirped as he floated around to her arm. His Guardian hadn’t even noticed him until that moment. “That’s a good thing, right?”

“Very.”

“But did you really need to lie to the Drifter?”

“I gave him the Motes he needed, and wanted. He doesn’t need to know about the rest.”

The Warlock recalled the earlier interaction with the Lightbearer, after he had given her a list of materials needed for their joint project. He seemed both surprised and betrayed after she had almost instantly given him the one hundred Motes of Dark he requested.

“Hoarding Motes, huh?” he had asked, his eyes narrowing. “How many did you squander away?”

“A couple hundred—”

“Damnit Nova, you know I’m the one who needs the Motes! Whatcha need with all those anyway?”

The Warlock knew better than to give an honest answer this time. With a shrug, she gave up an extra two hundred and twenty-seven Motes.

“That’s all I’ve got.”

In the present, her Ghost sighed.

“Nova, you have several thousand Motes. Do you really need that many?”

She gave Scorpius an icy stare through her helmet. He did not falter.

“Sometimes I’ll need heavy firepower,” she answered, defeated.

“Trying to summon a Likeness of Oryx?”

“Hell no. Too dangerous. And too taxing.”

“A Primeval, then?”

“You’ll see it for yourself one day.”

Secretive. Even with her own Ghost. He seemed to roll his eye.

“We should check on Drifter’s handiwork.”

“Give it a minute, I gave him the last materials he needed not too long ago.”

“Which there was no need to go flying out for it either. You have a ton of planetary materials stashed away.”

“Yes, but those are mine, and I spent enough of those for Calus.”

“I just can’t win with you.”

Nova chuckled. She knew Sol would have said the same thing. He had always chided her for hoarding anything and everything. Her smile faltered, but she hid her sorrow from Scorpius. She’d rather not speak of the fallen Guardian. Or his whereabouts.

“Hmm, maybe I should go check on the Drifter now,” she said as she reached for her gauntlet and slipped it back on. “Hopefully I can help with the building process.”

***


	23. Warlock Nova III

Been a while since I went on with my #fanfic but truthfully I've been occupied with the new season and online finals 😅  
Season of the Worthy has slowly been growing on me, except the legendary lost sectors. And Fallen Champions. Both of those can go to hell. But I'm getting back into the grind so that's all that matters: sitting at 986, with a 6 power boost from the artifact. The Rasputin bounties are mad quick and easy thank god. Currently working on upgrading the bunker, still at level 1 😂

Without further ado, here's the next part! #WarlockNova

III.

***

“So…”

Damn it. The silent trip had been going so well.

“I know what you’re going to ask.”

“How long have you been unable to?”

Nova slumped in her seat. She had been trying to avoid this conversation for months.

“I stopped being able to use my Light completely a few weeks ago. Every time I’ve tried… you’ve seen what happens when I do.”

“I didn’t know you had lost your powers. They were less potent, but not gone.”

“I’m surprised you never noticed.”

“Why didn’t you do something about this sooner?”

“I… I’m not sure. Preoccupied, I guess.”

“With what? After you lit the beacon on Mercury’s Lighthouse, you disappeared from the Tower. You hid away on the Dreadnaught.”

Silence. A sense of realization.

“You went to the Dreadnaught for guidance, didn’t you?”

The Warlock did not answer. Scorpius looked away. At that moment, Nova’s ship exited its warp drive, and the once volcanic glowing moon of Jupiter loomed before them. Taking over the controls, Nova piloted the ship down to the Lost Oasis. The Grove of Ulan-Tan always seemed to hold the answers to mysteries. The Whisper. New abilities of the Light. And now, a cure to her condition.

As she entered the cave, the first thing she noticed was the bodies and remains of several Vex. That was a sure sign that something was off. As she walked through the iridescent pools of “water” and made her way through the winding tunnel, she began to take note that the normally occupied lost sector was empty; there were no traces of Vex or Taken, except a couple robotic arms and legs strewn about. She passed by a still mostly intact corpse, milky radiolaria leaking from the core on its abdomen.

“What happened here?” she whispered. Scorpius manifested and floated over to the dead Goblin, observing it.

“Let me see,” he wondered aloud as he scanned the body. “Hmm. Looks like the Taken were here.”

“Great.”

“I get the feeling you’re being tested.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

The Warlock was thoroughly disappointed upon reaching the end of the line, and finding no powerful enemy to kill or some mysterious tree calling out to her. She looked around the space as she waded into the pool of “water”, hoping for a sign.

“Any clues, Scorpius?”

The Ghost appeared next to her head and transmatted the prism that Nova had taken from the Traveler’s shard into her right hand.

“Try that. You might be able to use it like a key.”

“I was hoping to filter the Light through this.”

“You’ll still be able to. But first, see if it leads you anywhere.”

Though doubtful, the Voidwalker raised the prism up to see if it would shine some sort of light on the situation. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

“Some key this is.”

“Try using your Light.” This warranted an icy stare from behind Nova’s helmet visor. Scorpius sighed. “Try anyway.”

Focusing her Void powers, she willed it to flow into the prism. She began to weaken rapidly, her knees trembling. Her existing fever flared. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. There was a ringing in her ears. A voice. Scorpius’ voice. He was calling out to her, but he sounded faint and distant. Her eyes rolled back into her head. The tendril on her neck and face pulsated almost angrily. But she held on.

The prism began to glow with Void Light, gradually illuminating the room with a soft but cold purple. Invisible cracks in the wall became visible, aglow with the same Light found deep beneath the moon’s crust. And that Light responded.

Tendrils of Light cascaded from the cracks, snaking their way towards the prism and the Guardian who held it. Scorpius’ eye seemingly widened in surprise as he backed away just enough to give Nova space. As the Light filled the prism, it began to lose its purple hue in favor of pure white as it began to glow brightly enough for the Warlock to look away. Gentle ribbons of Light began to stream down from the prism and along Nova’s arm, writhing their way across her entire body. Despite this, she felt no pain. No burning. Her dark powers did not retaliate—or maybe they were, but weakly.

A final surge of Light. A voice.

“The Light lives in all places. In all things.”

Nova dropped to her knees as the Light slowly died down, the prism becoming dim. Her Ghost floated over to her quickly, intent on ensuring his Guardian was alright.

“Nova? Nova, are you ok? Nova!”

No response—

“...I heard you the first time, Scorpius.” The Ghost’s expression immediately brightened.

“You’re alright! I was worried that the Light—”

“You had every right to worry. That… nearly killed me.”

At first, there had been no pain. But as the strength of the Light increased, that quickly changed. She could almost still feel the pain of the searing Light. Her arm felt like it had been melting. The tendril on her face had squirmed in agony and hatred. Its ends had split repeatedly and branched out quickly, consuming her face and blackening her vision. She had screamed, but there had never been sound. It had felt like the Light would burst from her body, destroying her the same way as it had destroyed Ghaul. Or perhaps, it wasn’t the Light, but the dying screams of the Darkness in her body, bursting from her chest the same way Oryx did as he died his final death.

“But…” the Warlock took a long look at the prism, and tightened her grip on it. Despite the pain, her afflicted arm had ceased its production of smoke and no longer felt painful. The tendril and its branches had burned away into nothingness. “I was able to wield the Light.”

The two were interrupted by the appearance of a major Taken Minotaur, its white eye tinged with yellow. Nova exhaled quietly as she stood up, leaving the prism in the blue liquid in which she stood, though she began to levitate above it. Wings of flame formed on her back as lightning coursed along her arms. Void Light bloomed from her chest. Solar, Arc, and Void energy crackled across her visor. The Taken Minotaur let out a noise akin to a roar and raised its weapon.

“And I intend to use it on you.”

***


	24. Warlock Nova II

Right, so I gave Season of the Worthy a bit of a whirl last night for an hour...  
Ana's new voice gives me mixed feelings, some of her voice lines don't hit the same anymore. And she got completely redubbed a la Dinklebot: strike voice lines, public events, idly standing next to her on Mars... all in her new voice. She gives me Shiro-4 vibes now with her tone of voice 😂  
I have yet to try out the Seraph Tower event, as I'd like to grind to at least 980 via powerful drops, Prime Engrams, and the artifact. Playing catch-up is actually kinda fun 👀  
Also, Tommy's Matchbook is a beast. Absolute monster. Just remember to hip fire 😅

That aside, here's the next part of my WIP #fanfic! Again, feedback is welcome. Enjoy! ❤  
#WarlockNova

II.

***

The trip was largely silent, at least up until the Warlock reached the mysterious portal that led to the fallen shard. She extended her left hand gradually, as if reaching out. Her breathing had become heavy again.

“There’s still Taken forces beyond here,” she muttered, her voice strained. The refreshing effect of the cold snow had worn off. The fever was growing unbearable. “I might be able to use their energy to open the way.”

“Why don’t you use your Void powers instead? You can just Blink past, not to mention the cold abyss would probably help.”

Under her helmet, Nova’s brow furrowed. Scorpius was not yet aware of just how bad the dark power of the Taken had ransacked her.

With a shaky breath, her fingers curled and glowed with a bluish Taken light, and the portal yielded. It burst open with a haunting noise, humming coldly.

“You… shouldn’t be doing that,” Scorpius remarked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“I know. Let’s hurry.”

Nova made her way across the forest with haste, despite her lack of energy. She held fast to her chrome auto rifle, watchful of any enemies in case there were any lingering by. When she came across the next portal, it was already opened. Perhaps it had sensed her somehow? The same thing occurred with the third portal, but rather than stop and question it, the Warlock continued through. She had no time to lose.

The shard loomed before her, partially submerged in water. It hummed quietly with the Light. But at the same time, faint whispers plagued the area. No doubt the Taken still lingered.

“Hurry,” Scorpius whispered sharply. “The shard… doesn’t feel so welcoming this time.”

With a nod, Nova approached the shard and reached out slowly with her right hand. She glided her fingertips across the surface as she walked around it, examining it for cracks or breaks. Though its Light was faint, just being close enough brought the Warlock relief from her condition. Her fever retreated and her strength returned, but the dark power within her retaliated. Her corrupted arm burned, as did the mark staining her neck and cheek. She hissed in pain, wincing.

“Nova!”

Her Ghost’s voice brought her back to reality and she quickened her examination until she found what she wanted. A hole in the shard. She reached into the geode-like opening and grabbed hold of a loose piece. As she removed it, she noted the prism’s weak Light signature, weak enough for the dark to settle and the burning to end. With a sigh of relief, she held out the shard.

“Scorpius, if you would?”

The prism disappeared from her hand, transmatted away. As she began to leave the radius of the shard, the whispers suddenly grew loud.

“Nova, let’s get out of here. Something isn’t right.”

“It’s the Taken, Scorpius. I can handle them.”

“In your condition? You’re already rapidly deteriorating.”

“I said I can handle them.”

Blights formed around the area as several Taken spawned in, screaming into reality. The Psions twitched and split rapidly as they aimed their guns at the Warlock, while the Knights roared in challenge. Slowly, Nova lowered her right arm, intent on focusing her Void energy into the Voidwalker’s signature concentrated bomb. For a moment, the Light did not answer. Time seemed to stop. But then it came surging through her body, running down her arm and collecting in her palm. She breathed a sigh of relief.

But the Darkness would not have it.

Wings of shadow unfurled from her back as shadowy horns, formed ornately as a crown, sprouted from her helmet. A white light formed in place of her helmet’s visor, mimicking the eye of the Taken. As her form was enveloped in Darkness, her fingers glowed with a bluish light, and a twisted sword manifested in her right hand. With a slow movement, she raised the sword up, the blade somehow glowing with Darkness. The Taken before her seemed to back down, though it was not known if it was out of fear or servitude. The Warlock slammed the tip of the sword down into the ground, creating a shockwave of Taken energy that rippled across the grass and the water.

Though the Taken seemed to tremble, they had ultimately given up their will to a master. Slowly, they lowered their guns and knelt before Nova, still twitching erratically. Nova regarded her subjects carefully, ensuring their obedience. Indeed, they were hers now.

Satisfied, the Warlock disappeared in a puff of dark energy that screamed through reality as if she were an echo. When she emerged on the other side, away from the forest, she collapsed onto her knees as the sword and the veil of Darkness surrounding her billowed away in the wind. She panted, struggling to breathe, as she felt the black tendril slither up her cheek and to her eye whilst branching further and spreading across her face. She weakly reached out her right hand and summoned Scorpius.

He was silent. Uncharacteristically silent. He regarded her with a piercing gaze of mixed emotions. Surprise. Pain. Fear. Anger. She could not bring herself to meet his eye.

The two transmatted into their ship before departing to Io. No words were spoken.

***


	25. Warlock Nova I

Well, I'll be hitting up the new season shortly now that I can get the chance to play. Mentally preparing myself for the light level grind 😂  
But, before I do, I've got a new #fanfic! This one's fairly short but still a WIP, but I do appreciate any feedback! ❤  
#WarlockNova

I.

***

Nova had taken three steps before collapsing onto the snow, shivering with fever. Scorpius manifested above her, his eye somehow displaying his irritation.

“You came out here to freeze to death?” he asked dryly. His Guardian continued to shiver, her breathing worryingly labored, as she clutched her left arm tightly. It was emitting a heavy black smoke, a smoke poisonous enough to have eaten holes through the rag she had used to hide the deformity and stain her gauntlet with Taken goo. Her chest rattled as she sucked in a deep breath of chilled air.

“Self-quarantine.”

The Warlock’s Ghost had been observing her condition closely for months now. He wasn’t sure when the ill effects started to take hold, but he had no doubt that it was likely the work of being exposed to the lunar Pyramid’s dark influences. Or perhaps it was the choking darkness deep within the Pit underneath the Scarlet Keep, where the essences of the Pyramid’s Nightmares were channeled into the repeatedly resurrected Hive Champion, Zulmak? Or maybe, just maybe, it was the exposure to the beautiful yet haunting reality of the Black Garden?

Scorpius had watched his Guardian decline in health since the Dawning, and it only continued. Eventually, Nova had noticed as well, and made further efforts to hide her condition—even from her own Ghost. She hoped that donning armor of silver and chrome would be enough to mask the smoke, but… well, it didn’t.

The Warlock took another shaky breath and reached up towards her helmet, releasing the clasps.

“Air… I need air…”

“Nova, wait, it’s too dangerous to remove your hel—”

The chrome and violet helmet rolled off into the snow as the Voidwalker gasped for air, despite its frigidness. Scorpius was troubled. She looked like death. Her skin was an unhealthy color bordering gray and her eyes had lost their lively shine. But most troubling was the branched tendril of black crawling up her neck and along her left cheek.

“Nova… this is bad…”

“I don’t have long left, do I…?” the Warlock’s voice tapered off. She was certainly dying, succumbing to the Darkness within her body. And it was spreading quickly.

“You have to get back in tune with the Light. It’s the only way.”

Nova rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky, her eyes watering from the sting of the cold wind.

“Io.”

“What?”

“Io. The Light of the Traveler left behind there should solve this problem.” She slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position and reached out her right hand, palm up. Her Ghost floated over to it and made himself comfortable in her palm.

“But that’s a lot of Light, and that could hurt you too. You need something to channel the Light through.”

“Like a shard of the Traveler?”

“Don’t tell me you want to go back into that creepy forest.”

“I would like that shard.” Nova pushed herself up to her feet, pausing for just a moment to collect her helmet. A whooping screech of what was likely a Devil echoed in the distance behind her, just beyond the wall. Though Dusk Fallen had started to inhabit this area, it was still ultimately the Devils’ land. And no doubt it was still crawling with Splicers.

“Nova?” Scorpius piped up suddenly as the Warlock’s ship came down to collect her.

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think that maybe someone could help you out? Someone who knows about this? Someone like—”

“The Drifter. I’d rather he not know about this. Could hurt the tenuous trust we have.”

“You honestly trust him?”

“Look. From what I’ve read, if that man makes a warning, you’ll be damned he’ll follow through with the consequences.”

“You’re afraid.”

“Not as much as you are of that dark forest.”

The Ghost huffed in annoyance, but he did not argue. He and his Guardian transmatted into the ship hovering just above, and began to make their way higher into the atmosphere in order to fly on over to the European Dead Zone. As the ship sped away from the Cosmodrome, Nova leaned back in her seat.

“I’ll get around to telling him. But I’d like to get better first.”

***


	26. Happy Dawning

~Happy Dawning, Guardian~

***

The Guardian sat by the fire he had built for himself to stay warm during these cold days of The Dawning. He watched the flames dance slowly as he ran his fingers along the silk sheet draped over his shoulder, trying to think back to what his life was like before his Ghost found him. It was the only way he could fight the loneliness.

But he had a visitor.

The Guardian's keen ear was able to hear the near silent footstep of the Warlock who stood at the entryway of the shipping container in which he resided in. He reached for a weapon, but the Warlock's voice stopped him.

"So, I finally get see you for myself. The rumors were true."

Stern. Soft. Feminine. The Warlock slowly walked into the Guardian's home and sat opposite him, looking down at the fire. She reached for her left arm, fidgeting with a cloth wrapping that appeared to cover a disfigurement, judging from the unnaturally dark smoke it emanated. The Guardian regarded her curiously.

"You didn't have the same reaction to me that others do."

"I have my reasons." She kept focus on her arm, wrapping the cloth tighter, and eventually hid it under her festive blue robes. "I've known about your existence for some time now, I just didn't believe that you'd traveled all the way here, so close to the Last City."

The Guardian's violet Ghost floated out, attempting to continue the conversation, but he gently placed his hand on the small machine to stop him.

"How did you find me?"

"I have some good friends. A Hunter tracked you down at my request. He reported his findings back to me." The Warlock paused, then chuckled rather dryly. "I had another scout in mind, but you likely would've shot it on sight."

The Guardian shifted uncomfortably. To say he felt threatened was an understatement.

"What do you want?"

The Warlock held out her right hand and summoned her own Ghost in her palm, a dark ball radiating a green flame. The Ghost's single eye focused on the ground next to the Warlock, and within seconds a small gift box appeared out of thin air. The Ghost disappeared just as quick as it had appeared in the first place, and the Warlock reached for the box, decorated nicely with a bow made of gold ribbon.

"I came to wish you a Happy Dawning, Guardian." She reached across the fire to offer the box, which the Guardian accepted with slight hesitance. He examined the box with care before carefully unwrapping and opening it to reveal glittering, spade-shaped cookies.

"Well, these are nice," the purple Ghost remarked, a hint of awe and appreciation in his voice.

"I made them myself through a lot of trial and error," the Warlock admitted. "It took far too much time—and too many ingredients—to get them right. And I thought I'd personalize them just for you."

The Guardian was silent, but deep down he was thankful. The optimism of his Ghost could be wondrous after all. He looked up at the Warlock just in time to see her twitch in pain as she clutched her smoking arm. She stood up quickly and began to leave.

"It's about time I go again. Perhaps I will wander the stars for some time. It's better than returning to the Tower now, I'll be exiled for sure if I do." She looked back at the Guardian and his Ghost, which glistened like the amethysts of the Dreaming City in the fire light. "I hope to see you at the Tower soon. But only when you are ready. Happy Dawning."

With that, the Warlock was gone, vanishing into the cold night. The Guardian looked back at the cookies and picked one up, examining it closely. Maybe things weren't so disappointing after all.


	27. Adam

Adam the Selfish.

Adam the Narcissist.

Adam the Greedy.

Adam was a well-known man. A despised man. He treated everyone as if they were beneath him just because he was wealthy and highly egotistical. His family no longer wanted anything to do with him. He had no friends, much less a lover. But Adam did not care.

Adam didn’t fear loneliness. Nor did he fear dying alone, like many had told him he would end up. But Adam did fear death.

When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, for once, he spent a part of his riches to have an Exo frame built for him. When his organic body perished, Adam soon began his life as Adam-0.

Becoming an Exo did not change Adam. Repeat reboots did not change Adam. Adam-1, Adam-2, Adam-10, Adam-15, they were all the same with the exception that each iteration was slightly more forgetful than the last. And so Adam kept his infamous titles.

Until one day.

A group of humans were escaping the Fallen. House of Devils. Vandals picked off escapees one by one with their snipers. A Captain chased the group, swords in its four hands. It yelled something in Eliksni to the Vandals, causing them to scurry over and across junked and rusted cars to find better angles for their sniping.

Among the humans was Adam-17, wearing a tattered cloak and ripped robes. He hated being among these poor people. With his money, he could’ve escaped in a much classier way. A private ship, most likely. In an effort to save himself, he tried to push past the rest, knocking over small children and causing others to stumble. People screamed and cried at him as they tried to hold onto his tattered clothing, but he shook their hands off in disgust. He looked back with his piercing red eyes to glare at the worn and tear-stained face of a mother when he spotted the Vandals taking their new positions and the Captain hot on their heels.

And that’s when Adam realized he didn’t really fear the Fallen.

He stopped running and pushed past the crowd back towards the Captain, who seemed surprised that an Exo was challenging him. He pulled his hood back and raised a fist. The mechanical knuckles collided with the faceplate of the Captain, who recoiled and faltered. As Adam raised another fist, he thought back to the mother’s look of desperation and helplessness.

Was he finally fighting for someone other than himself?

As he landed his next punch, one of the Captain’s secondary arms swung up and the sword in its hand cut through Adam’s robes and into his chassis. He felt pain shoot up throughout his frame. But he didn’t stop fighting.

And for the first time, Adam didn’t fear death.

As the Captain’s swords ripped into Adam-17, he continued to fight. Even when a Vandal shot off his right arm, he continued to fight. Even as the Captain began to tear his sliced chassis apart, ripping him in half, he continued to fight. He raised his left fist, and delivered a final blow to the Captain’s face with all his strength. The ensuing “CRACK” rang across the open space as the faceplate cracked and broke, as did the Fallen’s jaw… and judging from the angle the Captain’s neck was twisted in, it would seem that it had broken as well. As the Captain fell, so too did Adam-17. He had just enough strength left to slowly bring his mangled arm across frayed wires up to his shredded chest as the light in his crimson eyes went out.

The fleeing people he managed to save gave him a new name:

Adam the Defender.

But Adam would return. And he would earn more names:

Adam the Striker.

Adam the Sunbreaker.

The Reins of SIVA.

The Guardian, Adam-17.


	28. Fall II

Who's up for the next chapter of the #fanfic? The ends draws nearer...  
Enjoy!

#LightAndDarkness

***

6\. Fall II

***

Leonidas carried Nova through the portal, and they both quickly noted that the Taken and Hive were gone. Scorpius lay on the platform that hovered between the portal and the console just a ways away, motionless. Holding Nova close to himself, the Hunter jumped over to the Ghost. As he knelt on the platform, the Warlock slowly reached a hand out towards her Ghost and wrapped her fingers around him weakly. She pulled him towards herself and rested him against her helmet in the same embrace as before. Slowly, the blue eye lit up and began to glow as the Ghost’s mechanics whirred back to life.

“Nova!” The Ghost sounded surprised, but angry.

“It’s over, Scorpius…”

“Why did you do that?”

“I needed you to go so that you wouldn’t be affected by what I did… I’m sorry… I knew you wouldn’t leave otherwise…”

Scorpius wriggled himself out of her hand and emitted his healing Light, restoring Nova, who breathed in deeply.

“At least you’re alright now. Don’t ever do that again.”

The Warlock chuckled.

“I won’t. Thank you.”

Leonidas carefully lowered her to the platform and let her go now that she had been healed, and began to look around. Where was Sol? He jumped down to the ground, and he found the Warlock immediately.

“Sol!”

Nova reacted immediately as she heard the devastated tone in Leonidas’ voice, jumping down right after. Her expression quickly became grim upon seeing Sol, who lay motionless on the ground. Smoldering pieces of Hive flesh and Taken goo surrounded him, as well as stained the entirety of the Oracle Engine’s space. His right arm appeared scorched. Nova dropped to her knees in shock as Scorpius scanned him.

As the Ghost scanned him, Sol began to slowly turn over onto his back, causing Scorpius to quickly dart backwards and make the Guardians jump slightly. He gasped weakly, but they noticed that he was still clutching his Ghost. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the light in Prosechtikós’ eye had gone out. The Ghost was dead. Looking even closer, they found that Sol’s robes were torn and burned, and blood stained his snowy white armor.

The Warlock coughed weakly and Nova quickly pulled off his helmet. The inside was also stained with blood as it trickled down from the corner of his mouth. His sapphire skin was pale and grayed. He coughed again and looked at Nova, who removed her own helmet. He smiled slightly.

“Is he dead…?”

Leonidas nodded once. Scorpius went to scan the Guardian again, and upon finishing the scan he looked at Nova with a sorrowful look. The Voidwalker grabbed Sol and held him close to her, resting his head against her chest. He shuddered.

“It’s over…”

“Sol… please… not you too…”

“Lightning didn’t come back, huh…?”

“No. I’m sorry. It turns out he was Fenrir in Guardian form, and… well, he had to die too.” Leonidas looked down at the ground.

“I see…” Another cough, this time with some blood. Nova held him closer.

“Sol…”

“Hey, Nova…?”

“Yes…?”

“I’m glad I got to see you one last time…” The Awoken Warlock smiled softly at her as his body shuddered once more. Then the glow of his turquoise eyes went out, and he went slack.

“Sol…? Sol…!! SOL!!!”


	29. Fall I

I know it's a bit early for the next chapter of the #fanfic but I'm terrible with schedules and I figured being early would be a nice treat 😅 Enjoy!

#LightAndDarkness

***

5\. Fall I

***

Upon reaching the other side of the portal, it was quickly noted that the Queen’s Court had been severely corrupted. Its once purple hue was dark and unwelcoming. The mysterious sky behind the throne had been choked in Darkness. A gigantic Likeness of Oryx floated behind the throne, his great wings choking the life and light out of the Court. Azazel held a single dim Mote in one hand, and a cracked and blackened shard of the Traveler in the other. He was breathing heavily, having likely exhausted his power to summon the Likeness of Oryx in its most powerful state. Despite that, the Hunter chuckled lowly.

“It’s too late now. The Taken King has begun to corrupt this place. His influence will reach beyond, to the Ascendant Plane. I will become a God among Gods.”

“So this was your plan?” Nova asked as she stepped forward. “To become some powerful Hive god?”

The Nightstalker let the drained items fall out of his hands as his body began to radiate Void Light. Blades of Void energy formed in his hands, which he gripped tightly. As Nova gripped her Malfeasance and Leonidas drew The Last Word instead, Lightning stepped forward, sparking Arc Staff in hand.

“Allow me. You two deal with Oryx.”

“Lightning, he’ll kill you,” Leonidas told him in an attempt to dissuade him.

“No. He won’t.”

Azazel yelled in anger as he began to charge at the Arcstrider. The Arcstrider spun his staff and held it behind him as he charged at the Nightstalker. As the Hunters began to clash with each other, the Gunslinger and the Voidwalker ran towards the throne to face against the massive Likeness of Oryx. The being growled lowly but loudly as he stretched his claws down towards them. Nova noticed that his chest glowed brightly; this was a Likeness of Oryx as if he were in his own throne world. Immediately, Leonidas flung his flaming knives at the massive beast, but quickly realized to his horror that they had no effect.

“Nova, I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do this time,” he said quietly. Nova stared at Oryx, who started to bring his claws together and began to charge something between his hands. Doxology. Damn it. Leonidas looked at her. “Nova?”

“There’s… one thing,” she replied. She held out her hand and summoned Scorpius. “I need the Mote.”

“What do you plan on doing with it?” the Ghost asked.

“Just give it to me, I’ll explain it when I have it.”

As the Mote manifested in her free hand, Scorpius gave her an expectant look. The Warlock gently closed her fingers on the Ghost’s shell and held him to her helmet. He made a squeaking noise of surprise, but he did not shy away from his Guardian’s embrace. The two stayed that way for a long moment.

“I’m sorry, friend,” Nova said solemnly. Though confused, before Scorpius could say anything in return, Nova threw the unsuspecting Ghost with all her might back towards the portal.

“Nova! What are you doing?!” Leonidas cried out. The Warlock raised the Mote up and it started to glow brightly as she began to radiate with Void Light. However, she cried out in pain and began to twitch and writhe as her Light seeped into the Mote, causing it to glow brighter and become charged with more energy. Leonidas quickly realized—much to his shock and horror—that she was funneling her Void energy into the Mote, feeding it with her Light. As the Mote drained Nova’s Light and glowed blindingly bright, Oryx stared at her curiously, even ceasing the charging of his attack. The Warlock grit her teeth as more of her Light was drained, but eventually the Mote went dark. As Nova dropped to her knees weakly, a giant Blight formed before Oryx before taking the shape of an identical giant Likeness of Oryx.

Leonidas knelt by Nova as the dim Mote slipped out of her hand and she began to collapse backwards. He caught her before she could fall and repositioned her so that she was partially laying on him instead. He looked up at the two Taken Kings, who roared at each other and began to attack one another. He felt Nova twitch slightly in his grasp, and he quickly turned his attention back to her. She gasped weakly, but otherwise did not move. She was without a doubt drained of her Light.

“Why, Nova?”

“It was… the only way…”

The Likenesses continued to battle, clawing at each other and unleashing volleys of energy as they both retreated further and further away from the throne. The titans clashed viciously, releasing their fell Hive magics on each other. Finally, the shadows of the Taken King struck each other once more, sinking their claws into each other’s chests. The beasts roared and screeched loudly, but they did not yield. They tore through each other at once, causing them both to collapse in on themselves.

As soon as both Oryxes had fallen, the Queen’s Court was cleansed of its corruption and it returned to its true state. The purple colors returned and the Darkness that clouded the sky dispersed, revealing its true mystical colors. Though Azazel’s blades had been tirelessly clashing against Lightning’s staff, he suddenly faltered. The blades fell out of his hands and his Void energy disappeared. As he stumbled weakly, he watched Lightning swing his Arc Staff at him, cutting through his torso and severing his body. The Nightstalker widened his eyes but hadn’t even been able to make a sound, as Arc energy consumed his body and left no trace of him behind.

Leonidas carefully lifted Nova to her feet, though he swung her arm over his shoulder so he could support her carefully. As they began to turn towards the battling Hunters, they both witnessed Azazel fall to Lightning’s hands. The Arcstrider stared at where Azazel had stood for a moment before he noticed the two watching. He immediately rushed over to them as his staff disappeared in a spark of electricity, and he inspected Nova closely.

“Drained of Light, but you’ll be alright—”

Lightning’s words were cut short as he cried out in pain instead, releasing a wave of Arc energy from his body. The cut on his side glowed brightly, but both Guardians observed a very obvious burst of sparks shoot out from mechanical wiring. As the Hunter dropped to his knees, shivering in pain, Azazel reformed in both pure Light and Arc Light. He laughed wildly, maniacally.

“I told you, you can’t kill me! You never will, unless Fenrir dies!”

Lightning looked over at his darker half weakly and slowly rose to his feet, breathing shakily as he did.

“Then so be it,” the Arcstrider said quietly, his body no longer sparking.

“Lightning…?” Nova questioned in a weak voice.

“No…” He turned to the two Guardians. “My name… is Fenrir.”

“As I thought… you really were his Ghost…”

“Lightning…” Leonidas began. The Arcstrider waved his hand to silence him. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“I took the form of a Guardian because of Azazel’s dark rituals. One of his rituals resulted in this: the splitting of himself in a way that his Ghost—me—took on his visage as the noble Bladedancer and Arcstrider he used to be.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; it was less shaky this time. More confident. When he opened his eyes again, they burned with an unwavering and fierce determination. “End it, Leonidas.”

“Ghost, don’t be so foolish,” Azazel spat as he began to step toward the Arcstrider, but there was fear in his voice.

“Leonidas.”

The Gunslinger gave Fenrir a solemn look and nodded slowly. He gently released Nova, who carefully dropped to the ground, and his body began to burn as he raised The Last Word. The Arcstrider nodded.

“Thank you, friend. Goodbye.”

“No!” Azazel reached a hand out towards the two Hunters as he leaped towards them both. But he stood no chance. Fenrir closed his eyes as the flaming bullet pierced his chest, shattering his form. Pure Light burst from where Fenrir had stood as pieces of his Ghost shell—now truly unveiled due to his death—clattered to the ground. Azazel collapsed to the ground where Fenrir had stood, too late and defeated. He gently scooped up a piece of Fenrir’s shell and held it longingly in his palm as he stood up. He slowly looked up from the piece of his dead Ghost at Leonidas, who was aiming his Golden Gun directly at him.

“Any last words?” the Gunslinger asked him. Azazel chuckled and sighed, smirking. He spread his arms, still clutching the piece of Fenrir tightly in his fist.

“Yours. Not mine.”

The first bullet burned a hole in his chest. The second burned the rest of him away in flames and ash. Azazel was dead.


	30. Beginning of the End

With today's chapter of the #fanfic I bring good news! Writing has officially finished. Remaining chapters will be rolled out over the next few days 😎  
Enjoy!

#LightAndDarkness

***

4\. Beginning of the End

***

The three wasted no time in speeding off towards the Spine of Keres on their Sparrows, though Lightning rode with Leonidas as he himself possessed no such vehicle. After passing the cave of blue crystal and crossing over the cliffs, what they found was truly an army. Hive and Taken alike stretched across the Spine, so much so that they almost immediately greeted the Guardians with a rain of Void and Arc bolts from their weapons. The Hunters and Warlock quickly proceeded to cut through the crowds, with Lightning forming the path thanks to his Arc Staff. Ogres, both Taken and not, as well as Shriekers and a multitude of Knights and Taken Knights rushed to stop them from advancing.

One Knight’s head burst and its helmet fell as the body crumbled into dust. The Guardians looked back to find Petra standing atop a high rock, sniper rifle in hand.

“I’ve brought a friend who seems eager to help,” she told the Guardians over comms. “I hope you don’t mind.”

She motioned for someone behind her, and there was a sound of crackling electricity. Suddenly, a Titan cloaked in Arc energy shot up into the air and began to rocket down towards the enemies. He crashed into the Hive and Taken-covered bridge with a massive burst of Arc energy. But the Striker kept going. Still coated in Arc Light, he began to smash his fists and knees into the creatures. As Nova watched the Titan dominate the enemy, she began to feel a suspicion that she had met this Titan before. Shaking the feeling off, the Warlock turned back towards Petra and waved at her in thanks, and then continued forward now that the way was open.

The Guardians ran past the Titan, whose Arc Light had finally exhausted and had begun to retreat while firing rounds from a hand cannon. He nodded respectfully at the three as they passed, and they nodded back with the same respect. He had created the opening they needed.

Once inside, as the swarm of enemies began to crowd around all doorways to prevent entrances and exits, the Guardians immediately spotted Azazel standing by the Awoken console; he looked drastically different, more corrupted. He held the Offering to the console, and it disappeared from his hands. The Oracle Engine froze in place and began to rearrange itself into a new position. The Nightstalker clicked his tongue and held up something to it. To Nova’s horror, she then realized what Azazel had stolen from the Watchtower.

“A shard of the Traveler!”

The shard glowed brightly and seemed to hum, but the Engine obliged. It rearranged itself further so that the closed portal presented itself to the dark Guardian. The doorway opened, revealing the portal’s light, as he lowered his arm and the bright glow of the shard died. He looked down at the Guardians with a cruel smirk, hidden by his helmet.

“Too late, as usual,” he remarked. His voice was more distorted than before. That was when Nova noticed his Hive-like horns that sprouted from his helmet, fading to sickly green crystalline tips.

“What have you done?” she asked in a low voice. The Hunter chuckled darkly.

“My plan is coming to fruition.” He waved the Traveler’s shard mockingly. “And there’s no way you can stop me.”

Leonidas began to leap up the jutting balconies, jumping high over the heads of the Hive and Taken that filled the area, as he started making his way to Azazel. The Hunter rolled his eyes and scowled before shouting some sort of command in Hive tongue. Immediately, the enemies turned their attention to the Gunslinger and they began to shoot at him. Being mid leap and in a vulnerable position, Leonidas was quickly barraged with Void and Arc bolts. He yelled in pain as he took the hits, and he quickly collapsed on a balcony. He carefully summoned Tigris so she could heal him without risking her own life. Lightning began to make short work of the enemies shooting at Leonidas in order to keep him safe, while Nova began to float up to the injured Hunter. She waved her hand down at her feet and created a rift of healing Light that aided Tigris in healing her Guardian’s injuries.

“Thank you,” Leonidas said weakly. Nova nodded quietly at him before throwing a Void bomb down at the multitude of enemies. Though she was able to kill some, it wasn’t enough.

“At this rate, we’ll never be able to make it through.” She looked up at Azazel as he jumped over to the portal and went through without any issue. The Gunslinger stood up slowly, now healed. He held Ace tightly in his hand.

“What do we do?”

“There isn’t much. We can try to climb, but their numbers are many.”

Taken swarmed the Awoken console, making it difficult if not impossible to follow Azazel as there was no way to safely get there by jumping. Nova began to shoot at them while Leonidas assisted Lightning in shooting the Taken and Hive down below. Several Thrall and Taken Thrall started making their way over to the balcony on which the Gunslinger and the Voidwalker stood, and they quickly realized they could stand there no more. As they jumped down to join the Arcstrider, who killed more creatures only for them to be quickly replaced and hinder his progress, they knew that they could not go on. They would either have to retreat somehow, or they would fall.

Unbeknownst to the three, a burst of flame burned away the Hive and Taken crowding a doorway, and someone new entered the battle. A few seconds later, a sword of fire pierced the ground in front of the Guardians, incinerating all the Hive and Taken that were in close proximity of the blade. A well of golden Light radiated from the blade, spreading along the ground towards the three Guardians. As the Light reached them, they felt the Light both heal and empower them. Lightning and Leonidas looked at the Light in awe, but Nova stared at the Guardian knelt on the ground, hand still gripping the sword’s hilt. Slowly, the Guardian—the Warlock—stood, revealing his white armor that glowed brightly in the Light of the well. He looked back over his shoulder at the three.

“Go, I can hold them off,” Sol said to them.

“You came back?” Nova questioned, though her bony helmet hid her smile. The Dawnblade nodded and turned his Duty Bound up towards the Taken guarding the console. He mowed enough of them down that the rest decided to jump down to the ground to challenge the Guardian.

“Go now, I’ll be alright.”

The Voidwalker nodded at him and began to float up the balconies to the console. Leonidas also acknowledged the Warlock with a nod before following after Nova. As Lightning followed, he stopped and turned to Sol. He put a hand on his shoulder, but Sol felt no shocks.

“Take care, friend.” The Arcstrider quickly turned and began to Blink after the others. As the three arrived at the portal and crossed through, Sol put down another Well of Radiance and began to cut through enemies with his auto rifle. Every death increased his Solar Light, as his robes siphoned energy from the Light-empowered kills.

As he planted more wells to incinerate more enemies, the Hive called upon the aid of Cursed Thrall. The unstable beasts charged at Sol, and though he was able to pick off one or two groups, he wasn’t fast enough to get them all. Several detonated in close proximity to him, injuring him badly even in his well. Though the well healed him, he knew he would need Prosechtikós’ help. He carefully held his hand out and summoned the Ghost in the palm of his hand, hiding him slightly behind his sword.

“I’ve got you,” the small machine told him as he began to heal the Warlock. An Adherent spotted the Ghost’s Light from behind the sword, and it slightly relocated to where it could actually see the machine. The Adherent saw its chance and aimed its Soulfire rifle down at the Ghost. As Prosechtikós finished healing his Guardian, he was hit by a bolt of Void energy. As the machine dropped to the ground and Sol stared in shock, the Adherent roared triumphantly. Prosechtikós’ eye flickered as the wound he had sustained smoked and sparked.

“Sol…” the Ghost struggled to speak. The mechanics of his voice were awry; he could barely make words. His Guardian scooped him up from the ground and held him close to his chest, shielding him with his hand. He felt rage boiling within him. As he holstered Duty Bound, he grasped the hilt of the flaming sword tightly and pulled it from the ground. The Well of Radiance disappeared as the sword burned brightly with Solar energy. Wings of fire sprouted from the Warlock’s back. As Sol took to the sky, he yelled in fury as he began to swing his sword, launching bolts of concentrated Solar energy at the enemies. He would burn them all with fire everlasting.


	31. Purification

Got lucky during lunch today! Here's the next chapter of the #fanfic, coming in more on time today! Enjoy!

#LightAndDarkness

***

3\. Purification

***

The two Hunters entered the Blind Well, and Leonidas quickly noticed that the main well seemed to have been recently charged. As he inspected the Well, he quickly caught sight of the numerous Blights that hung around the room; some stuck on the walls while others floated in place. One particularly large Blight hung from the ceiling in the back of the room and appeared to pulsate.

“He’s been here,” Lightning said matter-of-factly. “But, why did he come here?”

“This Well is important to my people,” Leonidas replied, his voice low and quiet, dangerous even. He was furious that Azazel would take advantage of his people’s curse like this. “Losing it is unacceptable. But I’m not sure why he would’ve come here besides wanting to poison it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Besides all the Blights here, the main well there has been activated and charged. What did he want from it?” As Leonidas approached the main well, he realized he didn’t have any charges of Light. He figured Nova would have them, but they couldn’t just sit around and wait for her. Lightning inspected the Well curiously, and then he started sparking violently with Arc energy. Leonidas looked at him with an uneasy expression. “Lightning? What are you doing?”

The Arcstrider placed his hand on one of the Well’s slots for charges of Light and emitted a powerful wave of Arc energy. Electricity coursed through the Well and it began to hum to life as it started to emit a green glow and produce its bubble of safety. Lightning stepped away from the Well as it coursed with power, and he created an Arc Staff in his hand. He looked over at Leonidas, who seemed surprised.

“What? I gave it the charge it needed.”

Suddenly, Taken began to spawn en masse; it was as if the seams of reality had been violently torn. Blights around the room pulsated sickeningly as Taken Thrall and Acolytes began to jump down into the Well’s bubble until it seemed like there was a sea of black swarming towards the Hunters. Several Blights began to burst to reveal more Taken that had been stirring within.

Leonidas began to fire his Ace of Spades with utmost concentration, trying to keep the creatures from overwhelming him. He combined the bullets with grenades and flaming knives, creating and maintaining explosions and waves of fire. Lightning tore through the black wave with ease, cutting through them with his staff and waves of limitless Arc Light.

“These Taken aren’t the same as the last time we did this!” Tigris exclaimed to Leonidas.

“I can tell. These ones are almost endless.”

“If I were you, I would just burn through them.”

With a small chuckle, Leonidas leaped into the air, his body aflame, and rained flaming knives on the enemy. With his Shards of Galanor, he was able to assist Lightning in clearing out the swarm of Taken quickly. To his surprise, Taken Knights and Ogres also spawned and crawled out of bigger Blights to wreak havoc upon the Guardians and the Well, but they were all cut down like the rest. Arc and Solar Light flared within the Well’s bubble, burning and electrocuting the creatures of Darkness into nothingness. The Light they produced kept feeding the Well enough so that even the ancillary wells were becoming just as charged. The energy began to burn through Blights, cleansing the corruption.

As electricity flew and flames burned, the addition of Void energy bursting through the swarm soon became apparent. With another burst of Void energy and the disintegration of more Taken, Nova burst through the dark sea, her whole body radiating with Void Light. She warped towards another group of Taken and charged her Void energy before releasing it in a concentrated burst from her body, disintegrating the said group of Taken. She Blinked up into the air as the Void energy surrounding her began to flow into her right arm instead, becoming more concentrated in her hand. The Skull on her head whispered to her as she launched a Void bomb into the corrupted beings, which splintered and wiped out several more flowing the initial detonation. The whispers sounded gleeful, and the Warlock’s inner Void Light soared.

“I see now what you meant when you said you’d seen what Azazel’s done here,” Nova called out to Leonidas as she threw another Void bomb. “This is different from the curse, and these Taken aren’t the same. They more powerful. More dangerous.”

As all the wells began to glow with power, the main well’s bubble disappeared as well as the hazardous mist outside. More Blights began to burn away due to the sheer amount of Light, but the Taken continued to spawn and Blights continued to spill out their living contents in sickly goo. Three large Taken Ogres with shields joined the swarm, bursting forth from Blights like if they were eggs, and attempted to attack the Guardians with their eye blasts. Nova quickly spotted the glowing Taken Knights that seemed to flank the Ogres, and she didn’t hesitate to make quick work of them. As she picked up the orbs of Harmony to help refill her Light, the Ogres turned their attention to her.

“Leonidas, help Nova!” Lightning called out to the Gunslinger as he spun in a circle, firing bolts of Arc energy from the Arc Blades that had just replaced his staff seconds before. “I can clear the Taken!”

Leonidas immediately jumped over to Nova and grabbed an orb of Harmony for himself. He continued to throw flaming knives, becoming more precise with each throw. It wasn’t long before the Ogres’ shields were broken, and the Gunslinger and the Voidwalker made quick work of them all with their soaring Light. As soon as the last Ogre fell, the swarm of Taken stopped their charge. However, the Arcstrider did not. He cut through the rest of the creatures until none were left, unaware that his Arc Light was continuing to charge the Well. As soon as he cut down the last Thrall, the Well hummed with more power and glowed brightly. The remaining Blights burned away at a much faster rate.

“So that’s how you activated the Well,” Nova remarked. “Interesting.”

The massive Blight in the back of the room began to pulsate faster and started to emanate a glow from within. Through the glow, the Guardians glimpsed the form of an Ogre as it stretched its claws out to rip at its disgusting shell. With a single rake of its glowing claws, the giant Taken Ogre tore through the Blight and landed on the ground as Taken goo and a sickly glowing white and teal fluid dripped from the ripped egg-like enclosure. The beast roared furiously as a shield formed around it.

“Isn’t that the Plague of the Well?” Leonidas asked, feeling his stomach churn slightly.

“Well, yes, but it’s Taken…? It’s normally just a Hive Ogre… and it doesn’t spawn like that…”

The Ogre slammed its fists into the ground and began to barrage the Guardians with a volley of eye blasts and axion bolts; the spines on its back twitched as if they were spidery legs. Lightning leaped up to the two and began to spin his staff out in front of him. They hadn’t even noticed him change his weapon yet again.

“Do what you have to to bring his shield down. I’ll cover you.”

Nova motioned for Leonidas to follow her, and they ran over to one of the Ogre’s two main blind spots. Two Taken Wizards floated in the spot and began to launch Solar bolts at the two Guardians. Nova made quick work of them with her Malfeasance, and they each dropped some sort of spherical relic. Nova grabbed one and turned to Leonidas.

“Catch.” The Voidwalker tossed the orb to the Gunslinger, who caught it with ease. As he did, the orb seemed to spark with some kind of volatile energy.

“What do I do with this?”

“Throw it at the Ogre. It should be enough to break his shield.”

True to Nova’s word, the shield shattered the moment the orb made contact with it, and the Ogre within staggered slightly. The three Guardians took their chance and unleashed their Light upon the Taken beast. The Plague fell quickly, collapsing in on itself in an explosion of Solar, Arc, and Void energy. As it did, the remaining Blights in the room either shrank and disappeared or burst and burned away due to the Light.

Lightning turned back towards the Well, which began to die down following its full charge. In the slot where he had first touched the Well sat some sort of amethyst crystal, which he picked up with care. He inspected it closely for a long time.

“This.” He turned to Nova and Leonidas and showed them the crystal. “This is what he came for.”

“Damn it! Of course he would’ve come here for an Offering!” Nova snapped and she looked away towards the entrance to the Well. “The Oracle can’t be safe!”

As if on cue, Leonidas’ comms sparked to life.

“Cousin! There’s been an emergency!”

“What is it, Petra?”

“It’s the Guardian, Azazel! He’s led an army of Hive and Taken to the Oracle!”


	32. Disease

Apologies for the late entry regarding the #fanfic! I've been busy at work all day and I promptly passed out when I got home. I was also cleaning up this chapter, as it felt bland and that didn't help since it's already a short chapter. But, now that it's ready, enjoy! 😊

#LightAndDarkness

***

2\. Disease

***

As Nova plotted a course to the Tangled Shore in search of the Spider’s intel, the two Hunters made their way to the Dreaming City instead. They rode together in the Queen of Hearts, as Lightning did not possess a ship of his own. But, it was also because of Leonidas that he was able to enter into the Dreaming City in the first place.

When they touched down on the mist covered rocks, they could tell something was wrong; the sky, normally bright and beautiful, was now dark and tarnished. The Hunters approached Petra, who stood on a rock just a few feet away from them and stared up at the Blight-ridden sky. The Queen’s Wrath looked back over her shoulder at them and waved them over.

“Come, cousin! I’m afraid I need your help.”

“There shouldn’t be this many Blights, right?” Leonidas asked as he approached and took his place next to Petra.

“No. Something is wrong. This isn’t normally how the curse goes. There are far more Hive and Taken than there should be.”

“What should we do?”

“I would investigate the Blind Well first. We cannot lose that. The Oracle Engine is safe for now, so I wouldn’t worry about it yet.”

“This must be Azazel’s doing…” Lightning muttered quietly as he looked around, electricity sparking around him calmly but erratically. Petra eyed him curiously.

“A new friend of yours?”

“Yes, he’s here to help me help you clear this problem.”

“Who’s this ‘Azazel’ he mentioned?”

“Long story. He’s a Guardian working too closely with the Darkness. Hive-obsessed. Somehow he’s managed to enter the Dreaming City.” The Gunslinger motioned to the many Blights. “And he’s brought this with him.”

“Why has he come to the Dreaming City?” Petra seemed surprised, but there was a look of worry in her eye as well.

“We’re not sure yet. But it can’t be for nothing.”

“Could he be trying to manipulate the curse?”

“If he is, then he’s not doing so to help the Awoken.”

Petra looked down at the ground in thought, though her expression showed concern. After a moment, she looked back up at Leonidas.

“Cousin, whatever this Guardian is doing, please stop him before it’s too late.”

The Gunslinger nodded.

“We’ll head to the Blind Well. Keep me posted if an emergency comes up.”

“May I ask about your friend before you go?” Petra looked at Lightning over Leonidas’ shoulder. The Hunter looked back at him for a moment before turning back to Petra.

“He’s here for Azazel. He’s… he’s made of pure Light, so I guess he can defeat him by canceling him out.”

“I see. Then, if he is meant to ‘cancel out’ Azazel, you understand that he may not leave this place if he does fight the dark Guardian?”

Leonidas paused. It hadn’t occurred to him that Lightning could very well die here in the Dreaming City. He took another glance at Lightning, who seemed to be looking at the ground deep in thought.

“I understand.”

“Good.” The Queen’s Wrath turned and looked towards the Watchtower, sighing. “Cousin, I urge you to go to the Blind Well now and kill the disease that plagues it.”

“We’ll make it quick.” As the Gunslinger began to come down the rock, tapping Lightning’s shoulder quickly to get his attention and avoid being shocked, his comms came to life.

“I have some bad news,” Nova began. “According to the Spider—”

“Who’s the Spider?”

“The friend I told you I was visiting. Anyway, according to him, Azazel stole something from the Watchtower. However, I don’t know what exactly he stole.”

“He’s in the Dreaming City.”

“What? Have you seen him?”

“No, but we’ve seen what he’s done to this place.”

“I see. It can’t be good. I’ll join you shortly. For now, help Petra.”

“We’re heading to the Blind Well now.”

“Good. I’ll meet you there.”


	33. Resurrection II

With today's chapter, Part 2 of the #fanfic comes to a close! Fortunately for everyone, Part 3, which I've titled "Light and Darkness", is almost complete as well! Expect the end of this series in the next week 😉  
Enjoy the finale of Part 2!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

7\. Resurrection II

***

Azazel scowled again as he drew a curious but sinister scout rifle. He fired a shot that pierced Nova’s leg, causing her to collapse onto her knee. Leonidas slid on the ground to avoid Azazel’s next shot and threw a set of flaming knives. Azazel was able to move out of the way, though the blades still cut through—and slightly burned—his already ripped cloak. He threw a grenade that emitted a stream of harsh Void energy, and also threw some sort of smoke grenade. Leonidas found the smoke to be choking and blinding, so he made sure to dive out of it. Unfortunately, Azazel had been watching him and fired a shot of his scout rifle into Leonidas’ side. The Gunslinger yelled in pain, and to his horror he realized that he felt a part of his Light leave him due to that one bullet.

The black orb that was suspended in place on the scout rifle seemed to swell for a second time; it had made the same motion when Nova had been shot. As Leonidas clutched his wound and turned on his back, he realized he knew what that orb was. He knew about that horrid weapon. Oryx’s heart. The Touch of Malice. As he tried to crawl away, he stared down the wicked barrel of that terrible gun.

“Any last words?” Azazel asked sinisterly. Leonidas remembered Drifter’s words:

“You’ve got a hot flame in you, kid. Don’t you ever let it go out.”

Leonidas chuckled as he propped himself up on one elbow. His wound wasn’t healing, but he steadied his breathing.

“Yours. Not mine.” The Gunslinger quickly drew The Last Word and fired a bullet at the black heart on the scout rifle, followed by a series of shots into Azazel. As the heart twitched and pulsed violently, Azazel coughed in pain and surprise. He dropped his Touch of Malice as it drained his Light in an effort to heal the heart and he fell to the ground, clutching his chest and torso. His blood dripped onto the rocks, though it was black in color. As he writhed in pain on the ground, he caught a glimpse of Lightning fending off against the Song. He reflected its bolts back into its eye, and would occasionally Blink up to strike it. Azazel could make out what appeared to be cracks in the eye and its shell. He looked over at where Oryx was. Or rather, where he had been. The Likeness was long gone. Damn it. He had exhausted the Motes quickly this time. He exhausted them quicker every time…

“So, you’re not pure Darkness.”

Azazel looked over at Nova, who pointed her Outbreak at his head. Her wound had finally healed. The Hunter chuckled darkly.

“Is that what your new sparky friend told you?”

“But I can tell all your Light has almost been replaced. Are you just drawing power from the Void at this point?”

The Hunter only laughed. Suddenly, his body began to emanate a strong purple aura. Before Nova could react, he had already shot himself into the air and formed a bow and arrow of pure Void Light in his hands. He drew the dark bowstring back and fired it at Lightning. Though the Arcstrider heard the incoming arrow and was able to avoid being struck by it, he wasn’t fast enough to escape its tether. The Hunter dropped to his knees as his Arc energy seemed to be sapped away. He looked up at the Shrieker as it emitted a low growl, and he saw it beginning to form the eight seeker bolts. He was finished. He was too fragile to endure the bolts and survive.

But fate had other plans. Leonidas leaped into the air three times as his body burst aflame. Azazel widened his eyes in shock and rage. As he yelled in fury, Leonidas spun and flung flaming knives into the eye of the Shrieker. The Song roared and screeched as the knives exploded, shaking the room violently. As its shell crumbled into ash and its eye collapsed in on itself, Leonidas hit the ground. Though his wound had healed, losing that bit of Light had made his use of his Super more exhausting than it should have been. He struggled to stand, and as he raised his gaze he saw Nova begin to radiate with Void energy as it seemed to concentrate in the palms of her hands and her torso. But why was she…?

He was too slow to react. Azazel dropped to the ground right in front of him, knives of Void energy in his hands. His body radiated with strong Void Light. Part of his limbs were invisible, save for a faint purple outline. He lunged forward, swinging an arm forward as well. Leonidas widened his eyes as the blade cut into his abdomen and proceeded to sever his body.

“Leonidas!” Tigris’ voice sounded faint to him. He watched his limbs become consumed with Void energy. Was this the end for him? Could Tigris—

As Leonidas’ body was disintegrated and Tigris manifested herself around where he had fallen, Azazel turned his attention to the small Ghost. As he attempted to swing at her, Nova Blinked right in front of him. Though he couldn’t see her eyes behind her bony helmet, he could feel the wrathful glare. Her body began to glow with intense Void Light, prompting Tigris to flee for the time being. She charged an orb of energy between her hands. Azazel could only widen his eyes in shock as the Voidwalker absorbed the energy and became a living Void bomb. She released the Void energy in one massive burst that vaporized the Nightstalker quickly, leaving behind no trace of him. She breathed heavily and angrily as she floated slightly above the ground, still radiating Void energy. She looked back over her shoulder at the weakened Lightning, as the tether had finally shrunk and faded away.

The sound of Tigris releasing Light prompted Nova to turn and look over at the Ghost just as Leonidas reformed. He looked at his hands in surprise, as if he had not been expecting to be resurrected.

“The Darkness here is gone,” Tigris chirped proudly. “So you don’t have to worry about staying dead.”

The Hunter nodded at his Ghost before regarding Nova, whose feet touched back to the ground as her Void energy dispersed.

“Is he gone?” Leonidas asked. Nova nodded quietly.

“It’s over.”

The two Guardians’ attention suddenly whipped over to Lightning as he cried out in pain upon emitting a powerful spark of Arc energy. The wound he had sustained in Gambit Prime glowed brightly, and the Arcstrider clutched it tightly. Suddenly, Azazel’s body reformed in Light and the Nightstalker cackled.

“You really thought you could kill me?” he said mockingly. “Don’t you idiots know my Ghost has to die first?”

As Leonidas raised The Last Word to fire at him, the Hunter quickly disappeared in sickly green flames and black particles. He had escaped yet again.

“But I thought Lightning said Fenrir had left him…” Nova wondered aloud.

“No.”

The quiet voice caused the Guardians to turn back towards Lightning, who slowly picked himself up from the ground. The Arc energy that normally surrounded him was gone. His wound sparked like mechanical wiring, but he kept it well hidden.

“Then what really happened to Fenrir?” Nova’s tone sounded dangerous, dangerous enough for Leonidas to rest a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“He did leave. But he came back. He never truly left his Guardian. He always returns to him.” Lightning took a deep but shaky breath. “Wherever Azazel goes, Fenrir is sure to follow. We must find him again.”

“Easy for you to say,” Nova muttered quietly. Leonidas suddenly flinched as his comms came alive. Before he could get a word in, he heard the Drifter’s voice.

“Hey kid, sorry to hear he slipped past your fingers again. But that’s ok. Come see me. I’ve got good news for you.”


	34. Confrontation

As of today I wrapped up the writing of part 2 of the #fanfic! With that being said, expect the next 2 chapters over the next 2 days 😉  
Enjoy!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

5\. Confrontation

***

Drifter stood over the railing, looking wistfully at the Bank before him. He flipped his coin repeatedly with simple flicks of his thumb. He chuckled to himself as he thought about that last Gambit match he had been lucky enough to witness. He could hear quiet footsteps approaching his space in the Tower: the quiet steps of a Hunter. As he felt the Guardian approach, Drifter caught his coin in his palm and slowly began to turn around.

“Well, Hunter, that was quite a stunt you pulled off. You made a joke outta that Primeval! With all that Light you got—”

Drifter’s surprised eyes stared into the barrel of The Last Word as Leonidas glared daggers at him. He raised his arms up, but before he could speak again, the Gunslinger cut him off.

“What’s your game here, Drifter?” he growled lowly. His finger rested comfortably on the trigger. “What the hell was all that ‘bank Motes to summon a giant Taken’ deal? While also going up against Guardians in an aura of Darkness?”

“Ok, kid, I can tell you it’s just a game,” Drifter began, narrowing his eyes slightly. “The Vanguard don’t like it much. But you Guardians love it! Did you see the way your teammates played?”

“‘Just a game’?!” His finger tightened around the trigger. “Playing with the Taken is dangerous! Playing with the Darkness is dangerous!”

“Well, then why don’t you tell your friend Nova about that?”

“Leave her out of this.”

“Look, kid. If you want answers, I’m not really trying to kill anyone. I’m here for entertainment.” The Lightbearer paused. “And to survive.”

The Gunslinger’s finger seemed to relax. After a few long seconds, Leonidas lowered the barrel of the gun and holstered it.

“You have one chance to explain.”

Drifter smirked and lowered his arms, then seemingly pulled his coin out of nowhere as he leaned back against the railing.

“I’ve been around for a while. I’ve come to know my fair share of people, and if there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that trust ain’t easy to come by.” He flipped his coin, which landed gracefully in his hand, and he proceeded to flip it again. “But, there’s a certain handful of Guardians around here that I trust just enough to have them watch my back. Your friend’s one of ‘em.”

“You still haven’t explained the grand scheme of your game. I know it’s more than just entertainment for you.”

“Yeah, but it’s still entertainment.” He caught his coin in his palm this time and looked at it with concern before sighing. “Hunter, I made a deal with the Nine that has shown me the future that’s coming. The only thing I can do is get food and Motes. At least with Motes, I can use the Primevals to defend myself.”

“So you do use the Taken.” There was rage in Leonidas’ voice.

“Woah, kid! I don’t use them for any purpose that goes against Humanity. Not like that guy you’re after.”

The Hunter paused.

“You know about Azazel?”

“Of course I do! Your friend tells me things sometimes.”

“What has Nova told you?”

“The trouble he’s been causing. Is it worse than what I’ve heard?”

“He’s becoming more of a problem, if that’s what you mean.”

“You’ve done a good job to hide his existence from the Vanguard, Hunter. If they knew, it would make your job much harder.”

“Can you help me?”

Drifter blinked and gave the Gunslinger a surprised look.

“Help you?”

“He got away from me last time we caught up to him. I don’t know where he is now.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I need you to help me find him.”

“Why me?” He narrowed his eyes. “What has Nova told you?”

“She says you have access to intel. I know you can get some good information on his whereabouts.”

Drifter chuckled and shook his head.

“That damn Warlock friend of yours… alright, fine. I’ll help you. But I expect you to help me. Trust."

“Your secret stays with me. And I guess with anyone else you’ve told.” Leonidas turned and began to walk away slowly, his steps quiet.

“Hey, Leonidas.”

The Gunslinger stopped and looked back at the Lightbearer.

“How did you know my—”

“Courtesy of your friend. Listen. You’ve got a hot flame in you, kid. Don’t you ever let it go out.”


	35. Gambit in its Prime

I now realize that writing part 2 of the #fanfic will soon be wrapping up. With that, I would expect a chapter every day 😎  
Enjoy!

#NotorietyAndInfamy

***

3\. Gambit in its Prime

***

The two Hunters sat side by side in silence, as they found that they had nothing to talk about. They turned their attention away from the ground and up at the Voidwalker approaching them, who had Blinked up a moment before.

“Where’s Sol?” Leonidas asked. Nova waved her hand dismissively.

“Gone. Where, I do not know. It’s best if I don’t.” She looked at Lightning, who regarded her curiously.

“You changed your look?” Lightning asked her.

“I need to vent some frustration. Gambit Prime should do the trick.”

“Gambit… Prime?” The Arcstrider’s brow raised in confusion.

“Isn’t that the Drifter’s game?” Leonidas scowled. Nova nodded.

“You’ll do just fine. Lightning, don’t blow your cover. Don’t let your limitless Light show, for your and our sake.”

The three stood on the Derelict, alongside a Titan who happened to be on their team. On the other side stood a full team: one clad in green, one in yellow, one in white, and one in red. Nova drew her weapon of choice: a pulse rifle, angular in shape and black in color with angry red accents, little red nanites radiating out of it, and with the symbol of SIVA on its side.

“Don’t panic,” Nova said to the Hunters. “Just play the game.”

Drifter cackled with glee as he finished his quip about the Fallen, pumping his fists in the air out of excitement.

“Hold onto your Ghosts!” he called out as the eight Guardians were teleported down into the battlefield. The Hunters observed their surroundings, from the greenery to their left, to the crashed Cabal Thresher to their right, the ruins a ways in front of them, and the smaller ruins housing a Bank directly in front of them. Leonidas felt uneasy as he watched the Taken energy in the Bank swirl around, and he let his gaze wander upwards. He felt a chill in his bones as he saw what seemed to be some kind of Taken portal, and the Bank was siphoning energy into it.

“Nova!” the Gunslinger barked, but the Warlock was already occupied with killing waves of Fallen with Outbreak’s nanites. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll worry about this circumstance later,” Lightning told him calmly. “But right now I think we should help Nova.”

Leonidas felt his blood boil the more he participated in the match. He watched Motes of Dark fall from the bodies of the Fallen he and the rest of the team killed. His grip on the Ace of Spades tightened significantly.

“Relax, Leonidas, this isn’t what you think,” Tigris said to him.

“It is. It has to be. This is immoral. This isn’t right.”

“Leonidas, Lightning,” Nova called out to the Hunters. “Do you mind doing me a favor and taking these Motes to the Bank?”

“What?!”

“Leonidas, I can tell you’re angry by all this,” Nova motioned to the Motes that littered the ground, despite the Titan picking up as many as he could. “Like I said: just play the game.”

With a scowl, Leonidas scooped up a fair amount of Motes and made for the Bank. Lightning regarded Nova closely.

“What kind of game is this?”

“Drifter’s game. We’re killing enemies of Humanity. We’re killing Taken. We’re killing Guardians. Just think of it like Crucible, but just a little more… infamous.”

Lightning blinked, but he seemed to understand slightly, so he nodded.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take some Motes? I’ll help kill more Fallen. I have to keep my disguise and all.”

“As you wish.” The Voidwalker grabbed any remaining Motes on the ground and began to head towards the Bank, at the moment that a Taken Goblin appeared to block the Guardians. The Bank dropped into the ground, fortunately after Leonidas and the friendly Titan had deposited their Motes and sent a Taken Captain and Taken Goblin to the other team. The Taken Goblin that had just appeared took a swing at Leonidas, prompting him to dodge backwards. The Titan conjured a flaming hammer in his hand and struck the Goblin with it, setting it on fire and hurting it slightly. Nova Blinked over to it and finished it off with a well-aimed grenade of swirling Void energy. As the Bank popped back up, she deposited her few Motes and sent over yet another Taken Goblin. Leonidas observed the Taken energy that spiked up into the portal, making it appear to shrink.

“You’d best start explaining, Nova,” Leonidas said in a low voice.

“This isn’t related to Azazel, Leonidas. As I told Lightning, this is the Crucible, but with more enemies and a lot shadier. There aren’t many on the Tower that approve of this game. But Guardians love this.”

“What’s the point of giving the Motes to the Bank?”

Nova pointed up at the portal.

“Our goal is to summon our Primeval and kill it before the other team does.”

“Primeval?”

“A really big and ancient Taken creature.”

The Titan ran past Nova and into the open portal next to her, which Leonidas then realized that it swirled with Taken energy as well. As soon as the Titan went through, the portal disappeared and the ring turned red.

“Where’d he go?”

“He’s invading the other side, brother!” Leonidas jumped slightly at the sound of Drifter’s voice over his comms. The Lightbearer laughed. “He’s about to mow down some Guardians to give you an advantage, and help you win.”

Meanwhile, Lightning struggled to make due with a basic sidearm in his possession, and a Fallen Dreg took its opportunity to slash at him with its knife. The knife cut through the Hunter’s armor with ease, and his eyes widened as the wound glowed with Light. He quickly covered it with his hand and leapt behind a rock for cover, where he collapsed. He was more fragile than he had imagined…

The injury did not go unnoticed. The Dreg’s head burst into Ether and fire as Leonidas finished it with the Ace, and it dropped a Mote as its headless body fell. He slid over to the injured Hunter and summoned Tigris, who began to scan Lightning. Nova also summoned Scorpius in hopes that he could assist. The two Ghosts scanned the Arcstrider and turned back to their respective Guardians.

“We can fix him,” Tigris said.

“But we recommend that you two go out there and get away from here, in case an Invader shows up,” Scorpius added. “It’s better not to be grouped up. We should be done soon, so you don’t have to worry about dying to the Fallen either.”

The two Guardians nodded and headed for the crashed Cabal ship, where an array of Fallen, including Captains, began to crawl out. The two Ghosts faced Lightning, looks of concern in their eyes.

“You weren’t made by a Ghost like you said,” Tigris said quietly. The Hunter looked down at the cut, which sparked with Arc energy. He relaxed against the rock.

“Tell them nothing,” he said with a pained voice. “I’ll tell them myself soon.”

“That wound isn’t going away,” Scorpius said in a quiet voice. “You’ll likely have to explain it after the match ends.”

“I need a moment to regain my composure. I’ll be fine. But I’ll reveal the truth when it’s time.”

Then the alarm went off. He heard Drifter’s voice: an Invader had come.


	36. The Shattered Throne

It's been a while since the last chapter of the #fanfic. So, here's the next part!

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

6\. The Shattered Throne

***

“What is this place?” Leonidas asked as he followed the Warlocks across the floating platforms as a Taken Knight a short distance away roared and spat fire.

“This is Erebus, Eleusinia is a ways up,” Nova replied. “It’s Mara’s throne world. I heard it used to be prettier, then Oryx came along and made it dark and twisted.”

“Is that why the Taken are here?”

“Maybe. But they serve Savathûn now.”

After killing the Knight and his small group of Taken Acolytes, a symbol of a fish materialized above where it stood.

“That’s to our immediate right,” Sol commented. Nova nodded and looked at Leonidas.

“We’re cleansing symbols, aren’t we?”

Nova nodded and smiled.

“I see you’re picking up well on context clues.”

The Guardians stormed through Erebus, killing the Labyrinth Architects that suppressed the symbols. After killing one final Taken Captain, the way down revealed itself as a circular platform opened up. They continued to traverse the dark throne world, killing more Taken as they went. Even when they reached the room with a heavy mist and a multitude of charging Shadow Thrall, they still made their way across safely by using the platforms in their path to escape the dark creatures’ sharpened claws. They killed a small army of Taken Phalanx, and eventually came to a large circular room with four font-looking structures in a square formation.

“The Keepers of Petitions,” Sol muttered as he reloaded his Duty Bound. Nova drew forth her Subtle Calamity.

“What now?” Leonidas asked curiously.

“There will be an Ogre: Vorgeth, the Boundless Hunger,” Nova began to explain. “Killing four Wizards, the Keepers themselves, will allow us to bring down his shield.”

Leonidas examined the bent and twisted knives and blades that decorated his arms. They had helped channel the Solar energy within him through the use of his own flaming knives. He hoped they would help him once more now.

As the Guardians leaped down into the pit, Vorgeth himself spawned in the middle of the fonts. The giant shielded Ogre roared as the Keepers spawned, screeching and wailing to announce their arrival. Sol mowed down the lesser Taken with Duty Bound, while Nova used her Subtle Calamity to destroy the shields of the Keepers. Leonidas provided clean-up, and used Ace to destroy the Keepers one by one. Once all of them were dead and their floating purple orbs that they left behind were collected, Nova made her way to one font and deposited the collective Petitioner’s Burden into it. Vorgeth’s shield shattered, and he quickly retaliated with launching a set of axion bolts from his spiny back.

Sol ran up next to her, the Solar energy within him at its peak, and he summoned forth a great flaming sword that he then plunged into the ground. From the sword radiated a well of Light that healed and empowered all who stood in it. Leonidas saw his chance as Sol proceeded to destroy the axion bolts. He ran into the Well and leaped up into the air, still feeling the radiant Light empowering him. He released his Solar power, coating his body in flame as flaming knives manifested between his fingers. He gracefully spun around in midair as he threw the knives at Vorgeth, which pierced the Ogre’s hide and detonated. The Taken reeled back and roared again before launching more axion bolts. Leonidas felt the armor on his arms hum with power. He smiled under his helmet as they successfully drew enough power from the damage the knives dealt to Vorgeth, and his Solar energy swelled up once more. He released his flaming knives once more into the Ogre, which collapsed on one knee. Nova saw her own chance and released her own concentrated Void bomb, which detonated upon the eye of the Ogre and killed it immediately.

Nova watched Vorgeth collapse in on himself as her Skull siphoned energy from his death. It wasn’t quite enough to fully restore her inner Void energy, but it helped greatly. Leonidas had once again reached full Solar power thanks to the knives on his arms. He looked at Nova.

“Well, now what?”

“We go up,” Nova replied.

“We kill Dul Incaru,” Sol added. “And then we’re done here. For now.”

“Leonidas, do you have a Celestial Nighthawk?” Nova asked the Hunter.

“I might.” He manifested Tigris in his hand.

“It would appear that you do indeed have one. But you cannot wear it with your Shards of Galanor.”

Leonidas looked down at his bladed armor. He really liked them, but it didn’t seem like he had a choice.

“Alright Tigris, change them.”

The armor on his arms was replaced with a smoother armor with spiny shoulders, courtesy of Tangled Shore rewards. He then proceeded to don the bird-like helmet, its piercing gaze unnerving to Sol and amusing to Nova.

“Now it’s safe to proceed up to Eleusinia,” Nova stated, smirking under her bony helmet.

The Guardians passed the statue of Sjur Eido, who beckoned them caution and luck, and began to ascend up the throne world using ethereal elevators. After fighting through more lesser Taken, they arrived at the top. Dul Incaru floated in the back, swaying as she performed her ritual. Three massive Darkblades watched her. Leonidas knew they were her guards.

“We kill them first, right?” he asked for clarification. Nova nodded, but Sol answered.

“Yes, and like the Keepers they will leave us orbs of energy that will allow us to hurt her. It’s up to you to kill her then.”

Leonidas looked at him with bewilderment.

“Me?”

“I wanted you to wear Nighthawk for a reason,” Nova said to him. “It will surprise you.”

Nova and Sol drew the attention of the Darkblades — the Fatesmiths — and began to clear out the Taken Psions that appeared alongside them. Dul Incaru herself turned to face the Guardians and began to launch Darkness Bolts herself. Leonidas dodged the Arc bolts and threw a flaming knife at a Psion, killing it and returning his knife. He repeated his knife-throwing several more times, clearing out the Psions on one side, before he had to flee from the axe of a Fatesmith. It growled as it slammed the axe into the ground, the force of the impact throwing Leonidas into a wall. He groaned in pain and got back up slowly as the Fatesmith walked slowly towards him, dragging its weapon behind it. As it began to lift it to crush Leonidas, Nova’s Void bomb slammed into it and destroyed it instantly. At its feet was a blue orb.

“You alright?” Nova asked Leonidas. He nodded as Tigris healed his injuries.

“I’m fine now. Thank you.” He reached for the orb and touched it, consuming it. Immediately his vision changed slightly, and he saw Dul Incaru in a different light. She looked different. Weaker. But not weak enough.

“One down, two to go.” Nova immediately spun around and fired yet another Void bomb at the other two Fatesmiths, which had been significantly weakened by Sol’s flaming sword. The Warlock’s fiery wings appeared to flap as he immediately backed away while throwing one final flaming bolt from his sword. The Void bomb detonated against the two massive Knights, and they dissipated in Void energy as they left two more blue orbs, which Leonidas slid over to and collected. His vision sharpened further. He looked at Dul Incaru. She looked afraid.

Flames surrounded Leonidas as a flaming hand cannon manifested in his hand, and he aimed it directly at the Wizard’s head. She could only screech helplessly before he fired his single shot, and she was erased in a burst of fire. Her outstretched claws burned away into ash as her death screech rang in the room.

Leonidas stood up as the flames wrapping around him extinguished themselves and the Ace of Spades returned to his hand. He looked back at the Warlocks, about to make a small quip in reference to the Wizard’s quick death, when he suddenly collapsed onto his knees and clutched his head, dropping the Ace as he did.

“Leonidas!” Nova called out as she ran over to the Hunter. He could vaguely hear her voice through the loud ringing in his ears. He heard Sol’s voice too. But then he was gifted a vision. It was the snow-covered Cosmodrome, but riddled with blights big and small. A dark miasma swirled atop the wall. Something sinister whispered loudly—

“Leonidas!”

The two voices in tandem snapped the Hunter’s mind back into reality. He blinked repeatedly as he removed his hands from his head. He looked at the Warlocks.

“He’s at the Cosmodrome.”

“Who is?” Sol asked.

“Azazel. He’s there. I had a vision.”

“Then we need to go there,” Nova told him as she removed her hands from his shoulders and helped him stand. Leonidas grabbed the Ace as he stood, somewhat shaky at the knees.

“Nova, you know that the Cosmodrome is quarantined.”

“I’m aware, Sol. But if Azazel is there, then now’s our chance!”

“No. We have to respect Zavala’s orders.”

Nova intended to respond, but she bit her tongue instead.

“Fine. We’ll return to the Tower.”


	37. New Faces

#fanfic! Finally got the next part of Part 1 done 😅 Please enjoy!

#TheGunslingersHunt

***

2\. New Faces

***

The Annex was surprisingly dark. Leonidas passed by a room with a curious symbol on the ground, and several Guardians ran in and out of it, usually sporting black and red armor or weapons.

“Never mind that area for now,” Nova chimed in as she observed him. “You’ll be able to go there later.”

Leonidas continued to follow Nova, but he found it difficult to take his eyes off the symbol. He didn’t recognize it. However, his focus soon switched to another room, his destination, thanks to the strange structure in the back of it.

Nova walked into the room as Leonidas regarded the structure with contempt. It swirled with Taken energy. He felt… cold. He would’ve activated his Golden Gun to quell that cold if he hadn’t noticed Nova was speaking to someone. He was dressed like a Warlock, but not quite, with faded leathery robes and furry shoulder pads. Leonidas cautiously approached this Lightbearer, and he noticed the Lightbearer shift his eyes to regard him.

“Oh, so this is the Hunter you were telling me about!” he exclaimed as he smiled. Leonidas shuddered. Something was off-putting about that smile, about the Lightbearer in general. Nova motioned to him.

“This is the Drifter.”

“The Drifter, huh?” Leonidas didn’t take his eyes off of him. He walked slightly closer. “That your real name?”

“Nah, I just like this name. I go by it now.” Drifter looked Leonidas up and down, scratching his beard. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“I’ve never seen you my entire life.”

“Well, guess you’re right. But then how’d you get to the Derelict?”

Leonidas paused.

“Is that your ship?”

“Yes it is. How’d you find it?”

“I was looking for someone. He happened to be on your ship.”

“Ohh, so you’re hunting someone.” Drifter narrowed his eyes slightly. “Now I know why you look familiar.”

Leonidas felt threatened. He began to stretch out his fingers on his right hand. Nova put a hand on his shoulder, breaking his concentration.

“I’ll be right outside,” she told him before walking out. Against his own judgment, he relaxed.

“Explain, Drifter.” He noticed Drifter glance at his right hand, an expression of suspicion and worry on his face. He quickly smiled at Leonidas. By the Traveler did that smile make him uncomfortable.

“You got that ‘Shin Malphur’ feel, kid. The Man with the Golden Gun.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Oh yeah, once, way back. Kinda scary.”

“Scary?”

“Feels threatening. That’s ‘cause he is. You can't ever outdraw—”

“I know the story, Drifter. I’ve heard it plenty of times.” Leonidas waved his hand as he cut him off. Drifter scoffed.

“I’m sure you have, kid. You’re a Gunslinger after all.” He produced a green coin seemingly out of thin air and held it between his thumb and index finger. He flicked up up and caught it in his palm. “Well, I hope you catch your prey soon, Hunter. Feel free to stop by sometime and play some Gambit.”

Leonidas hadn’t expected for their conversation to end so abruptly, but he knew Drifter was done talking as he leaned back against the railing, flipping his coin in midair as he looked at the container of swirling Taken energy. He seemed lost in thought, and the smirk on his face seemed to falter. Leonidas waited to make sure their conversation was indeed over, and Drifter indeed said no more. He turned and walked out of the room, where he saw Nova resting against the wall.

“Were you listening the whole time?” Leonidas asked.

“I had to make sure you weren’t about to light him up with Solar energy.” She grabbed Leonidas’ wrist suddenly and pulled it towards her. He jerked back in surprise, but Nova pressed a gold and black hand cannon into his hand. He could make out letters etched into the gun, mainly reading “TEX”.

“Is this…?”

“Keep it down,” Nova muttered as she pulled her hand away, leaving The Last Word in Leonidas’ hand. “It took me a lot of deaths and resurrections to get that for you.”

“For… me? Why?”

“Remember, I saw a vision of you long ago. A Gunslinger hunting a rogue Guardian lost to the Darkness. And before you ask, no, it was definitely you in my vision.”

Leonidas regarded the hand cannon with awe before resting it on his hip.

“Thank you.”

“I also gifted you a few more things from my Vault.”

“Another ship?”

“Actually, yes. And another hand cannon.”

Leonidas tilted his head, raising an eyebrow under his helmet. Nova looked away.

“I will admit, it took me a long time to decide if I really wanted to give them to you.” She paused before sighing. “But I figured you deserved them more than me.”

Leonidas summoned his Ghost in his hand; it had a spherical shape to it.

“Tigris, show me my gifts.” Tigris, his Ghost, eagerly obliged. Leonidas could only widen his eyes as he laid them on the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Spades.


	38. Flames

Wrapping up this story! I'd like to formally call this arc "Duels & Demons", so I'll go back and hashtag the previous posts related to this. Thank you all for the support, it means so much to me! ❤  
#fanfic  
#DuelsAndDemons

***

Part 5: Flames

***

Once Sol’s Perfect Paradox and Nova’s Malfeasance had run out of ammo, they drew forth their swords, only to remember that the swords currently lacked the potential to utilize the energies of the Light. In that moment of hesitation, Oryx rose into the sky once more, roaring furiously. He twisted again and teleported over to where he had first appeared above the Nine’s portal. He growled and appeared to sneer as he turned his hands up and began to charge up his powerful attack once more. Sol widened his eyes.

“We have to stop him!”

“We don’t have the firepower…” Nova lamented. She felt the Void Light within her faintly; her Skull had tried to siphon further Void Light for her to utilize, but it only fed on death, and Nova had given it none. She waved her hand down at her feet and created a small pulsing circle of Light that helped to heal her. She switched to her Subtle Calamity and aimed at Oryx’s head.

“Nova…”

“If we don’t try, we definitely won’t make it, Sol. Now come on.” She let loose a fully drawn arrow, which sank into Oryx’s face, but hardly made him blink. Sol stood in Nova’s rift and began to fire arrows from his own Trinity Ghoul. They knew they were damaging the Taken King, but it was not enough. Would the Warlocks die here?

They both heard a small yet mighty burst of flame behind them, followed by three consecutive shots of pure, concentrated Solar energy, all of which struck Oryx’s face. The Taken King roared once more, a different roar this time, one of defeat, as his body seemed to both dissipate and collapse in on itself. The Warlocks looked back. Standing a short distance behind them was a Hunter, consumed in fire, a hand cannon of pure Solar energy burning in his hand. Azazel, nor his Ghost Fenrir, was nowhere to be found. The Hunter scowled.

“Damnit… he got away again…” The flames faded into the wind, leaving behind heat and sparks. His hand cannon was replaced with a basic sidearm. Sol tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

“You look familiar. Have we met before?” he asked curiously. The Hunter stared at him.

“A Warlock clad in white… yes, I believe we have met once before, at the foot of the Black Garden. You watched me destroy the Sol Progenies.”

“Wait, that was you?”

“I’ve seen you before, but I’m sure you’ve never seen me,” Nova interjected as she pointed at the Hunter. “I had a vision of a young Gunslinger who was a master of the Golden Gun.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t just Shin Malphur, Nova?” Sol questioned.

“No, it wasn’t. It was you, Hunter. You match the look.”

“I chase Azazel is all. He must be destroyed.”

“Now, hold on. There is a possibility that he can be saved—”

“Was Yor saved?” the Hunter growled, cutting Nova off.

Silence. After a moment, Sol began to slowly approach the Hunter.

“Say, what is your name?”

The Hunter paused for a moment as Sol extended his hand. He looked Sol in the eye and shook his hand in respect.

“Leonidas.”


	39. Revelry Tales

Decided to come up with something in a moment of boredom today, here's some "Revelry Tales" 😊

#fanfic

***

Nova reloaded her Thunderlord, her left hand and body still radiating with remnants of Void energy. The Fallen Walker that was the Forge Warden lay collapsed, the bright orange weak spot on its nape exposed. Nova formed yet another grenade in her hand and threw it into that weak spot, creating yet another swirling sphere of Void energy, causing the machine to twitch as it took heavy damage. She began to fire her Thunderlord into its neck as well, while the other two Guardians behind her either sniped it with their starved Whisper of the Worm or a forge-crafted Hammerhead. Eventually, the machine gave off an electrical burst as pieces violently burst from it, and it collapsed for good.

The forge ignited in all its power, offering its reward of forge-crafted guns and prototypes of said guns. Nova let the Void energy in her hand fade as she went to inspect the goods. She scowled under her helmet as one of the other Guardians was gifted a Le Monarque. She wanted that bow for her own collections. In the meantime, she made do with a newly forged Spiteful Fang. As the other two Guardians returned to orbit, she opened her right hand and Scorpius materialized into reality, his bright blue eye staring at the sparks left behind on the ground from the forge’s full ignition.

“This bow is good. It’s better than your last Spiteful Fang.”

“Yes, I’m aware. I’m pleased with it.”

“But you will forge another.”

“I want Le Monarque, Scorpius.”

“I thought you were satisfied with that ‘Jötunn’ or whatever?”

“I’m a collector, Scorpius. I may never use Le Monarque, but I want it.”

“You’ll use it.”

“What makes you say that? I’m not too big on bows.”

“Poison arrows.”

Nova smirked under her helmet. Scorpius knew her better than she thought.

“Alright, you got me. Now, that bounty—”

“You mean bounties? You finished two.”

“Turn them both in.”

Scorpius complied. She received a Modulus Report from one and a Ballistics Log from the other.

“Perfect. Time to head back to Ada.”

“What frame will it be this time?”

“Hammerhead. I’m hoping to get Le Monarque from it, but most importantly I’d like a better Hammerhead.”

Scorpius said nothing else as he transported them both to her ship to return to the Tower's Annex.

After purchasing the frame from Ada and grabbing bounties from Eva Levante, Nova began to wander the Tower, climbing up borderline sealed off areas to aimlessly walk around. That is, until she spotted Lord Saladin from the corner of her eye.

“Iron Banner seems to have come back,” Scorpius said to her, his voice disembodied. “Care to unwind?”

“In Iron Banner? Don’t make me laugh,” Nova chuckled. “I take it rather seriously.”

“Will you actually try the Iron Burden challenge this time?”

“I could. It would be cruel and force me to resort to low blows, but I could.”

“You have a token.”

“Don’t be the devil on my shoulder, Scorpius.”

Her Ghost chuckled lowly to himself as Nova approached Saladin, looking to purchase bounties. Perhaps she could get better armor from him, as unsightly as it was to her. She preferred her glowing purple antlers.

After purchasing her bounties, she sat atop the decorative tree at the middle of the area, looking out towards the Last City.

“Don’t you need to go through the Verdant Forest?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, especially to calibrate the gun frame,” Nova replied with a yawn as she stretched her legs, carefully keeping her balance atop the tree with her hands. “I’ll get to that in a sec.”

“Need me to change your weapons?”

“No, I think I’ll keep my Breakneck, IKELOS shotgun, and Thunderlord. But thank you.”

“You prefer Jötunn in the Verdant Forest.”

“I’m keeping Thunderlord this time, Scorpius.”

“Alright. Just suggesting.”

His voice was sharp that time. It kind of stung. Nova raised her hand and Scorpius materialized.

“I guess I’m ready to go.”

“With a team?”

“Of course, things are much easier.”

“Your tonic effects are dwindling. Would you like to refresh it?”

“Do I have enough Essence?”

“It… would seem that you do not.”

“Oh well. I’ll grab some in the Forest.”

Nova and Scorpius were transported up into her ship in orbit, their destination marked for Mercury. They only launched into warp drive once two other Guardians up to the task had been found.


	40. UNNAMED CHAPTER

#FanFic

***

Nova kneeled over a crate in the hidden corner where the Drifter had first set up shop before he moved to the Annex. The paper on the crate was filled with scribbles of unintelligible words and sketches of creatures that remained unfinished. The pen in her hand quivered as she struggled to formulate an idea of what to produce next on the page. Her mind was always chaos; she could never find the right words or string the perfect sentence. The thoughts in her mind always ran rampant. Her being a reader did not help.

The fingers of her free hand tapped against the Skull resting on the ground next to her, and occasionally traced circles around the horns and spines. She had read too much, and it was becoming hard to focus.

Nova was a reader; she would read every note, every book, every transcript. If she could get her hands on it, she would read it, no matter how it got into her hands in the first place. That's how she found out Aunor and the Praxic Order was now ironically working with the Drifter to snuff out the Shadows of Yor, but Nova knew she shouldn't have known this based on her choice a few weeks back. She knew Shin Malphur's identities. She knew of the predicament Eris Morn and Mara Sov have found themselves in, despite rarely visiting the Dreaming City in recent days—no, weeks.

But Nova was also a very good listener. She was not above eavesdropping. She knew most, if not actually every rumor that spread around the Tower. Something clicked in her mind. The pen in her hand began to flow along the paper as she began to draw.

The drawing was but a messy sketch when another Warlock entered the hidden space. He removed his helmet and observed her, noting the Go Figure slung on her back. She was hiding her other "frowned upon" weapons. He clicked his tongue. Nova dropped her pen in haste as she looked up at him, but she leaned back and relaxed upon recognizing him.

"You found me," she said to him with a smirk.

"It wasn't hard to find you. This spot is empty, and you've always found solace in this area since before the Red War."

Technically, the space was around where Eva Levante used to be, selling shaders and the like. Nova always found some peace there, but she had never been sure as to why.

"Well, I know you're here to talk. You wouldn't have shown me that handsome face of yours if you didn't want a serious conversation."

The Warlock blushed, the rose color on his cheeks appearing more purple in hue thanks to his sapphire complexion. He quickly cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes, which seemingly glowed an intense bright blue.

"Why did you do it?" he asked, a tinge of pain and slight anger in his voice.

Nova only sighed.

"This is about the Drifter or Vanguard choice again, isn't it? We already had this conversation—"

Her voice faltered as she struggled to avoid calling him any pet names to preserve the seriousness of the matter. She sighed again and cleared her throat.

"We already talked about this. I chose not to side with the Praxic Order for reasons I've stated time and time again. Though, it seems like our choices didn't matter. For now, at least."

"You read the message, didn't you? You know about—"

"Of course I do. I'm not stupid. I listen and read, you know this." She picked up her Skull and started to examine the jaws and teeth that were once an Ahamkara's. "Besides, I told you I would read all the notes and letters you got from Aunor, and you were ok with the idea."

The Warlock shrugged as he realized Nova was right. She had encouraged him to side with the Praxic Order, though he wasn't fond of choosing a side in the first place, so they could share the secrets that they both learned along the way. Though, he was still troubled by the fact that a Warlock had turned away from an order of Warlocks.

"I guess I'm just worried about you," he admitted, looking away as he spoke.

"I'm worried too. Even more so now that The Nine have started talking to us Guardians."

Nova narrowed her eyes at the Skull. Sometimes she would hear voices, but she was never sure if it was the Ahamkara from which the Skull was derived, The Nine, or even Mara. Whoever or whatever it was, the voices would interrupt her thoughts, making the contents of her mind more chaotic. She hated it.

Nova stood up as she put on the Skull and summoned Scorpius from her hand. "I'll be off harvesting Alkane Dust and Phaseglass. You can join me if you'd like, honey."

Her tone was gentle and sweet, but before the Warlock could say anything Nova had transported to her ship and gone out into orbit. The Warlock looked over at the paper she had been scribbling on when he entered. Intrigued by what he saw, he walked over to it and looked, and widened his eyes in surprise.

The words that had been written were all crossed out. Some he couldn't read, but there were notes Nova had written as a checklist: "Get Simulation Seeds," "Obtain Gensym Knight Hood," and others that were so crossed out they couldn't be read. Other notes were more concerning, with slashes and random capital letters in the middle of phrases. But the Warlock's eyes were drawn to the last thing Nova had made on the paper.

The sketch was rough, but he could make it out: it was a sword, but not just any sword. It had a broad blade, and on its hilt was... a stone? No. He knew what that was. He recognized the sword.

It was a sketch of Dark Drinker.


	41. Truths and Decisions

#FanFic

***

Truths and Decisions

***

"Expecting a letter, weren't you? Not anymore. Writing takes too long these days, so this time I'm leaving a voice message. Congratulations, now you know the sound of my voice.

"You remember I wrote about my friends. But I never got around to their decisions. Though, only two of the Guardians I mentioned have chosen a side; the others have been biding their time.

"The nameless Warlock with sapphire skin ending up siding with the Vanguard, or, more accurately, the Praxic Order. He's no fan of the Drifter, and perhaps he's trying to uphold some 'Warlock calling,' though that's a far-fetched belief. He's still upset with me for my choice. But what he doesn't know is that I've been reading the messages Aunor sends him. Heh. Looks like the Praxic Order's starting to work with Drifter. What an interesting turn of events.

"And Azazel? That creepy bastard obviously sided with Drifter. It's too bad that he doesn't have what Azazel wants: the power of Darkness, though I guess his Motes of Dark are the best thing Azazel's gonna get. I'm a bit concerned for Drifter. I consider Azazel a 'friend' I guess, but he's not above threatening Drifter to get what he wants. And if that happens? Well, I already told Drifter I'd watch his back. And I'm always true to my word.

"Would I kill a Guardian? Not willingly I suppose, but there has to be a damn good reason to do so. I would probably kill a Shadow of Yor if they tried to threaten me or my friends and family. But another plain Guardian? That's a tough decision to make. Maybe if they're not above redemption. That's the only way.

"Hey, no need to be afraid of me. I'm capable of showing mercy when I have to. But know I'm also capable of cutting my enemies down too.

"Thanks for sticking around to know me, whoever you are. Cut the feed, Scorpius."

—Message from Nova


	42. Friendships

Perhaps another?

***

Friendships

***

"It occured to me you're likely still wanting to learn a little more about me, specifically my friends that I had mentioned before. Are you prepared to brave the written expression of my jumbled thoughts yet again?

"When I was a fresh 'kinderGuardian'—is that the phrase you all use these days?—I was out of tune with the Light. I really only ever sufficiently mastered peering into the darkest depths of the abyss that is Void and using it to my liking. It's a shame I never mastered the flames of Light enough to rise up as a Phoenix does from death, nor the electrifying force of the storm, at least not before my connection to the Light was cut off during the Red War.

"You're likely wondering if I've gone off on a tangent. Truthfully, yes, I did, but I was setting up how stunned I was when I met the Guardians who stood by me ever since I made it to the Tower for the first time.

"There was a Warlock who wore the whitest armor you can imagine; it's a shame the armor was lost when the Tower fell. This nameless Warlock was my first friend, though to call him a friend is quite the understatement. He was, is, much more than that. He is Reefborn, with rich azure skin and the brightest blue eyes that rival the Awoken Queen's. His messy dark blue hair only further compliments his handsome face. But this Warlock was powerful. Not only could he conduct the power of the Void better than I, he could control the storm *and* rise from death like a Phoenix. It was simply fascinating. He was my guide throughout my journeys, him and a Hunter, though sometimes a Titan would too lend me a hand.

"The Hunter was—no, is—human, with pale skin and golden hair, though he had offputting red markings on his face. He was a dark one indeed, having a twisted personality and a lust for Darkness. I would liken him to Yor in that regard, but I haven't a clue if he's killed Guardians before. His name is Azazel. A fitting name for a demon like him.

"The Titan was a female Exo, and she was most comfortable in her metallic orange armor. Emma-33, I think her name was. It's been a while since I've seen her. I wonder if she survived the fall of the Tower...

"I have more friends, all fleeting. It's been too long since I've seen them, but I know they dispensed their justice in the Tangled Shore. One was a powerful Stormcaller with an affinity for all things SIVA, despite claiming the title of 'Young Wolf' like I did. I could have sworn his armor was infused with SIVA considering how unnaturally red it glowed. But that armor too was lost, and now he's almost unrecognizable. The Warlock's good friend was a Hunter, a Reefborn female if I recall correctly, and she was a nimble one. Watching her navigate the most dangerous and unstable platforms was truly a sight to behold. And then there was a Titan, a mysterious Sunbreaker. I don't even know if they're male or female. But they are a powerful Titan, one who could kill even the strongest enemies with ease with just their fists or their hammers.

"And what do I look like, you ask? Well, my armor is ever changing, but more often than not you will find me donning a skull for a helmet. And in the extremely rare occasion you find me helmetless, you will be surprised to know that I am human with pale skin that is lightly sunkissed, and short brown hair longer on one side than the other. But, I do have a white 'X' mark in the middle of my face. My defining feature if you ask me.

"This letter has gone on too long, and I am running out of free time. I will write again when I can."

—Nova, the Warlock


	43. First entry

Since everyone is making their own lore for their Guardians, I decided to join in myself. It's still a work in progress though.

***

I trust very few people. I trust you, I trust my fellow Guardians who reside here in the Tower, and I trust the Vanguard. But the Praxic Order? They can go to hell.  
I know, must be shocking to hear that come from the mouth of a Warlock. But I trust the rest because they trust me. Those hypocritical bastards? They lost my trust and respect the moment they tried to make me a suspect of Cayde’s murder. After everything I did to keep his memory alive.  
I know you want someone you can confide in. You’ll find that someone in me, Drifter.  
I hate taking sides, but then again, I knew this was coming. The Guardians I’ve grown attached to will surely hate me for my choice. They think I’m hungry for Darkness. I guess they’re kind of right. I seek Darkness to use its power, in tandem with the Light, against itself. They think I'm trying to be another Yor. I’m not sure they understand my sense of caution, since I know I walk a dark and dangerous path. Don't worry. I know the kind of company that'll bring. I'll watch my back.


End file.
